Ajay Kumar at 20:26, 30 August 2023

2023-08-30T20:26:36Z

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{{Short description|Species of mammal}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Himalayan goral
| image = Himalayan Brown Goral Male and Female pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 13.02.2016.jpg
| image_caption = Male and female Himalayan gorals in [[Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary]], [[India]]
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Naemorhedus goral'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Duckworth, J.W. |author2=MacKinnon, J. |date=2008 |page=e.T14296A4430073 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T14296A4430073.en |access-date=16 January 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A1
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/>
| genus = Naemorhedus
| species = goral<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Artiodactyla |page=706 |id=14200804 |heading=Species ''Naemorhedus goral''}}</ref>
| authority = ([[Thomas Hardwicke|Hardwicke]], 1825)
| range_map = Naemorhedus goral range map.png
| range_map_caption = Range map
}}

The '''Himalayan goral''' ('''''Naemorhedus goral''''') or the '''gray goral''', is a [[bovid]] species native to the [[Himalayas]]. It is listed as [[Near Threatened]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] because the population is thought to be declining significantly due to [[habitat loss]] and hunting for meat.<ref name=iucn />

==Characteristics==
[[File:A male goral in Rajaji NP AJTJ.jpg|thumb|Male goral in Rajaji NP]]
The Himalayan goral is {{convert|95|to|130|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length and weighs {{convert|35|-|42|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. It has a gray or gray-brown coat with tan legs, lighter patches on its throat, and a single dark stripe along its spine. Males have short manes on their necks. Both males and females have backward-curving horns which can grow up to {{convert|18|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length.
In addition to certain peculiarities in the form of the [[skull]], gorals are chiefly distinguished from the closely related [[serow]]s in that they do not possess [[preorbital gland]]s below their [[eye]]s, nor corresponding depressions in their skulls.{{cn|date=December 2021}}

==Distribution and habitat==
The Himalayan goral occurs in the Himalayas from [[Pakistan]], [[Nepal]], [[Bhutan]], southern [[Tibet]], and the states of [[Sikkim]] and [[Arunachal Pradesh]] in India to possibly western [[Myanmar]]. It most commonly occurs from {{cvt|900|to|2750|m}} above sea level, but has been recorded in [[Pakistan]] at elevations of {{cvt|1000|to|4000|m}}. Approximately 370–1017 Himalayan goral were present in Pakistan {{as of|2004}}, occurring in seven isolated populations.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fakhar-i-Abbas, F. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Ruckstuhl, K. E. |author3=Mian, A. |author4=Akhtar, T. |author5=Rooney, T. P. |year=2012 |title=Distribution, population size, and structure of Himalayan grey goral ''Naemorhedus goral bedfordi'' (Cetartiodactyla: Bovidae) in Pakistan |journal=Mammalia |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=143–147 |doi= |url=}}</ref> It is most likely absent from the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab Province]] of Pakistan.<ref name=iucn />

==Behaviour and ecology==
[[File:Himalayan Brown Goral pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 14.02.2016.jpg|thumb|An individual walking on snow in Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary]]
[[File:Himalayan Brown Goral Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 13.05.2016.jpg|thumb|Standing at the vertical edge of a rock cliff in Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary]]
Himalayan goral group [[home range]] size is typically around {{cvt|40|ha|km2}}, with males occupying marked territories of {{cvt|22|-|25|ha|km2}} during the mating season.<ref name=iucn />
Himalayan goral often form small bands of four to twelve individuals, although they are also known to pair off or, especially in the case of older males, be solitary. The animal is [[crepuscular]], being most active in the early morning and late evening. After a morning meal, it often drinks and then rests on a rock ledge through the day. It feeds on leaves and associated softer parts of plants, mainly grasses.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fakhar-i-Abbas, F. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Akhtar, T. |author3=Mian, A. |year=2008 |title=Food and Feeding Preferences of Himalayan Gray Goral (''Naemorhedus goral bedfordi'') in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir |journal=Zoo Biology |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=371–380|doi=10.1002/zoo.20202 |pmid=19360631 }}</ref>
The Himalayan goral is very agile and can run quickly. Due to its coloration it is very well camouflaged, so that it is extremely difficult to sight it, especially since it spends much of the day lying still. However, it is hunted by various predators, notably the [[Himalayan wolf]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://cdn.downtoearth.org.in/library/0.69048700_1565775720_dietary-spectrum-in-himalayan-wolves.pdf |title=Dietary spectrum in Himalayan wolves: comparative analysis of prey choice in conspecifics across high-elevation rangelands of Asia |last1=Lyngdoh |first1=S. B. |last2=Habib |first2=B. |last3= Shrotriya |first3=S. |date=2019 |website=Down to Earth |access-date= 7 August 2020}}</ref>

Himalayan goral can live for 14 or 15 years. The female gives birth after a gestation period of 170–218 days, usually to a single offspring. The young are weaned at 7 or 8 months of age and reach sexual maturity at around 3 years.{{cn|date=December 2021}}

== Conservation ==
''Naemorhedus goral'' is listed in [[CITES Appendix I]].<ref name=iucn />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Artiodactyla|R.3}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q494436}}

[[Category:Caprids]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Mammals of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Mammals of Nepal]]
[[Category:Mammals of Bhutan]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1825|Himalayan goral]]

Himalayan goral - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 20:26, 30 August 2023