Burmese Goral (Nemorhaedus evansi)

The Burmese Goral is maybe the most inconspicious species of the gorals. It appears smallest in size, with a less contrasting pelage.

Names

English common names: Burmese Goral (3), Evan’s long-tailed Goral (1), Burmese Long-tailed Goral, Thai Goral, Gray long-tailed Goral (5)

Czech (name proposed): Goral barmský (6)

German: Burma-Goral (3)

French: Goral d‘ Evans (3)

Spanish: Goral de Birmania (3)

The generic name was originally spelled Naemorhedus, but the spelling Nemorhaedus, despite being an unjustified emendation, is in „prevailing“ usage and is used here as well. (3)

Taxonomy

Urotragus evansi Lydekker, 1905, Burma (Myanmar)

Type locality: Mt. Victoria, Arakan, Myanmar (4)

The Burmese Goral was previously classified as a subspecies of N. griseus. (3) However, the two vary significantly.

The Burmese Goral differs from the Chinese Goral by: (4)

– its much smaller size

– its extremely short hair

– on average lighter colour

– less contrasting colour of the tail and the face

Distribution

India – Northeast (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram); Myanmar (western and eastern borders – absent from the central lowland parts); Thailand – North-West; China (Yunnan) (6)

General discription

length / head-body: 50-70 cm (3)

shoulder height: 50-70 cm (3) – these measures compared to the length seem doubtful, but no other dimensions are available.

weight: 20-30 kg (3)

tail: 12-18 cm (3)

horn length: 15 cm – males; 10 cm – females (3)

Pelage in adult Burmese Goral

	summer	winter
body	very light, fawn or somewhat brown (4)	bit darker, more of a brownish-grey (6)
underside	pale gray-fawn (3), almost white (6)	unlike the summer coat, coloured identically to the rest of the body; only the pubic region is light cream. (6)
limbs	usually completely cream or light ochre in colour around the entire circumference, creating a kind of stockings (6); with thick black line down the front (4)	distal parts of the limbs (lower end) are ochre
nape and dorsal stripe	usually prominent and dark brown (4) – hairs forming the nuchal stripe are somewhat extended, creating a short mane (6)	always with nuchal and dorsal stripe (6)
ridge of nose and forehead	coloured in a strikingly darker brown tone; separated from the lighter coloured cheeks by a clearly defined line (6)	similar to the summer coat (6)
throat patch	light, very large (6)	deep cream colour (6)
tail	mostly dark brown (4), similarly-coloured to the dorsal stripe (6)	dark brown-coloured (6)
rump patch	narrow, light coloured (6)	–

compiled mainly from Hrabina (2015) and Groves and Grubb (2011)

Pelage in young Burmese Goral (seasons unconsidered) – (6)

body: very light grey

lower legs: light colour quite reduced

nuchal and dorsal stripe: not as prominent as in adults or may be lacking altogether

tail: usually coloured identically to the body

crest between ears: very conspicuous, dark brown hair, disappears in adults

Horns

In both sexes the horns of Burmese Goral are strikingly short – around 15 cm in males, only up to 10 cm in females. In both sexes the horns are also noticeably slender. They are clearly backward-curved in males, and visibly straighter in females. Males’ horns are evenly shallow-ribbed, the number of notches no greater than 5, whereas the females’ are almost smooth. (6)

Habitat

The Burmese Goral occurs in rocky, steep terrain with tall vegetation cover, often on slopes over 60°. In one area they were found at elevations of 1600-1970 m. (3)

Mortality / Predators

Dhole, leopard, lynx, tiger (5)

Food and feeding

Probably primarily a diet of grasses. (3)

Breeding

Gestation: probably 180 days (3)

Young per birth: twins are rare (3)

Activity patterns

The Burmese Goral is likely crepuscular as in other gorals. (3)

Movements, home range and social organisation

Male Burmese Goral are solitary and likely territorial like other gorals. (3) There is a single local density estimate of ca. 5 goral/km² in Om-Koi Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand (Lovari and Apollonio, 1993). (2)

Conservation Status / threats

According to IUCN the Burmese Goral is classified as vulnerable (under N. griseus). (2) Poaching, deforestation, and agricultural development are major causes of declines and fragmentation of Burmese Goral populations. Status of most populations is unclear because of lack of monitoring. Lack of enforcement of game and forest extraction laws is a major concern. (3)

Trophy hunting

No entries found. Most probably there is no opportunity for foreigners to hunt Burmese Goral.

Ecotourism

According to Bruce Kekule – brucekekule.com – Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand, is a „great place for these amazing animals“, some 80 kilometers south of Chiang Mai. (7)

Literature Cited

(1) Damm, Gerhard R. and Franco, Nicolás, 2014: The CIC Caprinae Atlas of the World – CIC International Coucil for Game and Wildlife Conservation, Budakeszi, Hungary in cooperation with Rowland Ward Publications RSA (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa.

(2) Duckworth, J.W., Steinmetz, R. & Rattanawat Chaiyarat. 2008. Naemorhedus griseus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T14303A4430834. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T14303A4430834.en. Downloaded on 30 January 2017.

(3) Wilson, D.E. and Mittermeier, R.A. [eds], 2011: Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 2. Hoofed Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

(4) Groves, Colin and Grubb, Peter, 2011: Ungulate Taxonomy. The John Hopkins University Press.

(5) Castelló, José R., 2016: Bovids of the World – Antelopes, Gazelles, Cattle, Goats, Sheep, and Relatives. Princton University Press.

(6) Hrabina, Petr: „A new insight into the taxonomy and zoogeography of recent species of goral (Nemorhaedus, Bovidae, Ruminantia)“, Gazella 42, 2015, Zoo Praha

(7) http://brucekekule.com/?s=Doi+Inthanon&x=21&y=11