Mithun

About Mithun:

• The Mithun or gayal (Bos frontalis) is a heavily built, semi-domesticated bovine species.
• Mithun is believed to have originated more than 8000 years ago and is considered to be a descendent of wild Indian gaur or bison.
• It is known as the ‘cattle of the mountain’.
• Distribution:
  • The highest concentration of mithuns in the world is spread over the North Eastern (NE) region of India, with Arunachal Pradesh having the highest population.
  • It is also found in parts of Southeast Asia, viz., Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan.
  • The geographic zone is covered with tropical evergreen rain forests. 
• It is the state animal of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
• The ‘Soulung’ festival is observed annually by the Adi tribes of Arunachal Pradesh to commensurate the birth and arrival of Mithun on this earth.
• Physical Features:
  • Mithun appears somewhat similar to that of Guar (Indian bison) but is smaller in size.
  • Like Guars, they are strongly built, large-sized fleshy animals with an average weight of 400- 650 kg.
  • The characteristic feature of Mithun lies in the head, which has a well-developed, broad frontal bone with a flat-shaped face and from the front view, it appears like an inverted triangle from where two horns emerge from the lateral sides.
  • Horn colour varies from whitish yellow to salty black in most animals.
  • The young mithuns are light to dark brown in colour, which darkens with age.
  • In adult mithuns, the most common colour is black with white markings and white with black marking. Other than these two, albino or pure black is also found.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I

Q1: What is Indian Guar?

The Indian Gaur is the largest and tallest in the family of wild cattle. Gaurs are indigenous to the South and Southeast parts of Asia.They prefer hilly-terrains below an altitude of 1,500-1,800 m with large and undisturbed forest tracts and abundant water. The Indian Bison is about 240 cm to 340 cm in length, with a sole tail length of about 70 cm to 105 cm. Their height is about 170 cm to 230 cm.

Source: Mithun spotted in Assam for first time: Sarma