India GO
Gaur (Indian bison)
गौर (gaur)
The largest wild cattle in the world: a black bull with white stockings, a high ridge along the shoulders and a bulging pale forehead.
👀 How to recognise it
Size alone identifies it — a big bull stands nearly two metres at the shoulder. Herds feed at forest edges at dawn and dusk.
Protection
Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Where to see it
Goa
The state animal of Goa. Gaur come down to plantation and village edges in the Ghat interior, and are the largest wild cattle in the world.
Chorla Ghat (in season) · Budbudyanchi Tali (Bubbling Lake), Netravali
Mysore
A year-long 2023 study in Bandipur found only about 43% of the reserve still suitable for gaur, with invasive lantana among the main reasons, and its authors call for restoring the grasslands.
Bandipur Tiger Reserve (often)
Isha Yoga Center
Gaur, elephant, leopard and Nilgiri langur are all recorded in the Siruvani forest, which forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve: India's first, constituted in September 1986 and covering 5,520 sq km across three states.
Kovai Kutralam (Siruvani Falls) (in season) · Velliangiri Hills (in season) · Nilgiri Biosphere Nature Park, Anaikatti
Ooty & Coonoor
Estate workers here have lived alongside gaur for generations and work near them without alarm. The animals usually ignore people who keep their distance: this is a coexistence situation, not a danger zone.
Sim's Park Coonoor (in season) · Wenlock Downs (often) · Lamb's Rock (in season)