Gaur
(local/other name)

(most common name):
• Burmese Gaur
(transboundary/brand name):
• Burmese Gaur
(local/other name):
• Burmese Bison
• Indian Gaur
local/other name (Vietnamese):
• Pyaung
• Pyoung
• Pyun

The Gaur (Bos gaurus) is a wild species of cattle and the largest of the Asiatic bovids. It is the third largest animal after the rhino and elephant and feeds mainly on natural grasses and leaves from trees.

Gaur bulls are black and Gaur cows are a dark brown — both with white to tan stockings.

Taxonomic reference:
• Bos gaurus - wild species
• Bos frontalis - domestic form (Mithun or Gayal)

Gaur vs Mithun/Gayal - Gaur are/have:
• a smaller and tighter dewlap
• crescent-shaped, pointed horns
• a smaller arched poll between the horns
• larger with a more defined build and more height in the withers

As of 2017:
Only two subspecies of the Gaur are formally recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):
• Bos gaurus gaurus (Burmese Gaur, Indian Gaur, Indian Bison) - India, Nepal
• Bos gaurus laosiensis (Indo-Chinese Gaur) - Myanmar (Burma), Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, China

The Gaur belongs to the Bibovine cattle group. Bibovine refers to several species of large Southeast Asian wild cattle that are closely related to common cattle.

This page was last updated on: 2023-05-17

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