Lone Bull Gaur Grazing By The Road In Biligiri Rangan Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, India Royalty-Free Stock Image

The gaur & x28;Bos gaurus& x29;, also called the Indian bison, is the largest species among the wild cattle, reaching a shoulder height of up to 220 cm. It is native to South and Southeast Asia. The global population has declined by more than 70% during the last three generations, and it is extinct in Sri Lanka and probably also in Bangladesh. In well-protected areas, it is stable and increasing. However there is no room for complacency. Herds of gaur are often decimated by cattle borne diseases like rinderpest spread from domestic cattle grazing in the forests. In India, the population was estimated to be 12,000–22,000 in the mid-1990s. The Western and Eastern Ghats and their outflanking mountains and hills in southern India constitute one of the most extensive strongholds of gaur; in particular in the Wayanad, Nagarhole, Mudumalai, Bandipur & Biligiri Rangan forests, forming the Nilgiri Biosphere.Gaur are largely confined to evergreen forests or semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests. Gaur habitat is characterized by large, relatively undisturbed forest tracts, hilly terrain below an altitude of 1,500 to 1,800 meters, availability of water, and an abundance of forage in the form of grasses, bamboo, shrubs, and trees. The lone gaur in the picture was shot while driving through the Biligiri Rangan Tiger Reserve on April 25, 2019, at 05.30 PM, using a Canon DSLR EOS 550D, focal length 80mm, f/4 and shutter speed of 1/125s