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| Thai Wildlife > Rare or Extinct |
Goral
Species: Naemorhedus caudatus (Milne-Edwards, 1867)
Synonyms: Naemorhedus griseus (Milne-Edwards, 1872); Naemorhedus goral (Hardwicje, 1825); Antilope caudata (Milne-Edwards, 1867); Antilope cinerea (Milne-Edwards, 1874)
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Common names: Goral; Chinese Goral
The goral are like the serow are related to goats. The tip of the horns curve back. The goral have an opening in their ooves. They look similar to the serow in shape, however they have a smaller neck, longer tail, and shorter legs. The face of the goral is curved like the flat face of the serow. The opening between the nose and the eyes of the goral is very small. The nose of the goral is a separate bone from the face plate unlike the serow. The goral is half the size of serow.
It has brown fur with shades of gray and its outer fur is long and coarse. The inner lining found between the horns to the ears is soft. It has a distinct brown fur line crown. Along the back and waist is another long dark colored fur line that looks like a thin saddle across the back. On the gray fur line of black fur runs along the backbone down to the tail.
The bushy tail is dark colored or black. The fur under the chin and on the chest are a dark brown with faint traces of markings. The fur on the thighs are darker and the color softens as it reaches the hooves. The black conical horns slope back with distinct rings around them.
The female goral is generally of a lighter shade than the males. Their horns are also shorter and the rings are less distinct than in males.
The size of the Thai Goral is about 80-120 centimeters in length. The tail is 7-20 centimeters with ear length of 10-14 centimeters. The height measured at the shoulder is 50-70 centimeters with a body weight of 22-32 kilograms.
The Thai goral and the Chinese goral are the same.
Habitat ranges from China into Korea, Manchuria and the Alsuri region of Russia. In the south they are found in the east of Burma and the northwest of Thailand. Today they are reported to be found in the mountain ranges that give rise to the Ping River and the forest reserves of the north.
The goral lives in the high mountain ranges including the Himalayas. They like to live along sparsely vegetated cliffs with small crevices for them to hide. The goral lives in herds.
They eat grass, leaves and fruits and have keen eyesight thus they rely on this more than their sense of smell or hearing like other herding animals.
They mate during November to December, the mother carries the foal for six months and will give birth to one foal at a time. The reproductive age is from two to three years and lifespan is about 8-10 years.
The goral has very few natural enemies because their habitat is very unhospitable to other animals. However because of their herding instincts they are easily targeted by hunters. In addition the habitat of the goral is rapidly destroyed by the slash and burn agriculture practiced by the hilltribes, been forced out and eventually killed. The condition of the Thai goral today is very critical.
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