Is a Gaur and a Bison the same animal?
If you have been to India and done safaris in our game rich jungles, chances are you must have had an encounter or two with a large cattle like animal called the gaur (bos gaurus). In fact it is the largest bovine animal in the world.
But you would often hear the guides or other people calling it a bison. Well by the first looks it definitely resembles a bison found in Europe or North America. But don’t go by the looks. They are two different animals. Gaur’s range extends from India all the way to South East Asia. The bison is found in North America and parts of Europe. The gaur prefers the dry or moist deciduous forests whereas the bison likes the open grasslands. So their preferred habitat also determines their preferred food. Gaurs are mixed feeder meaning they both graze and browse on a variety of flora. Bison are primarily grazers. An adult gaur is also way bigger than a bison. In case of gaurs the bulls can weigh upto 1500 kg and bisons around 900 kg.
The bison also look way more scruffier than the gaur, don’t they? So on your next safari in India, remember, we have gaurs and not bisons.
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