AnimalsThe gaur, often called the Indian bison, is the largest wild cattle in the world. It is dark brown to black with white "stockings" on its legs and a high ridge along its back. Gaur live in small herds in the forests of the Western Ghats, central India and the north-east.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Bos gaurus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Herbivore (eats plants)
- Lives in
- South and South-East Asia
- Habitat
- Hill forests and grassy clearings
- A young one is called
- calf
- A group is called
- herd
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Artiodactyla
- Family Bovidae
- Genus Bos
- Species Bos gaurus
Other members of the family Bovidae on this site: blackbuck, cow, goat, nilgai, sheep, water buffalo, yak.
More distant relatives in the order Artiodactyla: Bactrian camel, chital, dromedary camel, giraffe, hippopotamus, moose, pig, reindeer, sambar, wild boar.
Scientists do not always agree on names. The GBIF list files this animal under the name Bos frontalis.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The gaur is listed as Vulnerable. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.