A stocky, shaggy goat-antelope of the eastern Himalayas, closest to sheep despite its muskox-like looks. Both sexes have thick, upturned horns. It moves between high summer pastures, where herds of up to 300 gather, and lower forests in winter.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inAsia
HabitatMountains, Forest, Grassland
ColoursGold, Brown
SizeLarge
Length160–220 cm (head and body)
Height97–140 cm at the shoulder
WeightMales 300–350 kg; females 250–300 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inherds
Lives for15–20 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- The eastern Himalayas in Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh in India; related takins in China.
- What it eats
- Leaves and grasses, bamboo shoots and flowers, plus salt from mineral licks.
- Conservation
- Vulnerable (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
The national animal of Bhutan, likened by biologist George Schaller to a 'bee-stung moose'.
It can stand on its hind legs to reach leaves more than 3 m up.
When disturbed it gives a cough-like alarm call, and the herd hides by lying down in bamboo thickets.
Often confused with
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