Are you fond of viewing wildlife in their natural habitat? If so you must be looking forward to places where you can find lots of wildlife sanctuaries and wildlife species.
One such place in India is Munnar which is famous for wildlife sanctuary and the best tourist spot to spend your vacations with your friends or family.
Munnar is also famous for a goat species called Nilgiri Tahr which is getting endangered day by day and there are very few Nilgiri Tahr left in India.
If you want to have a look at Nilgiri Tahr in the natural habitat of Munnar, then you should plan a trip to this hill station.
This article will help you in gathering the complete details about Nilgiri Tahr so that you know in detail about this endangered species of goat before visiting Kerala or Tamil Nadu.
Not only Nilgiri Tahr, but some of the other places you can enjoy with your family or friends in Munnar are also the Munnar tea museum, Mattupetty dam, etc.
I also recommend reading the article completely to gain in-depth knowledge about Nilgiri tahr
Table of Contents
What is Nilgiri Tahr?
Nilgiri Tahr which is also known by the name of Nilgiritragus hylocrius in science is mostly found in the hilly terrains of southern states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Though this goat species was earlier found only in Tamil Nadu after few years, some of the people have started spotting this animal in Kerala as well.
Some of the local staying in the southern States also so call this animal varayaadu.
This species looks like a goat or sheep and entirely different from the Tahr family found all across the globe.
Some of the other species of the Tahr family found in the world are Himalayan and Arabian Tahr.
Though Nilgiri Tahr looks like sheep it is a special category of the goat.
Talking about the complexion and size of Nilgiri Tahr, you need to know that males in this goat species are larger as compared to the female species.
Similarly, complexion also helps in differentiating between the two genders of Nilgiri Tahr.
Male Nilgiri Tahr has darker color as compared to the female species. One of the other features which help tourist identifying Nilgiri Tahr in the dense forest of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are their curved horns.
In the male category, these curved horns are larger that is 40 cm.
The weight of the male Nilgiri Tahr is approximately 90 kg whereas female Nilgiri Tahr weighs around 60 kg approximately.
The height of this goat species also helps in differentiating male gender from the female gender of Nilgiri Tahr. Male Nilgiri Tahr has a height of 100 cm whereas female Nilgiri Tahr has a height of 80 cm.
The natural habitat of this goat species
After understanding the complete details about Nilgiri Tahr, the next important thing for you to understand before planning a trip to the hill station in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to spot this goat species are the natural habitats where such endangered species can be found.
Nilgiri Tahr is found in the dense forest of hill stations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
This species is mostly found in the region at a height of up to 2600 m from the sea level.
They are mostly found in the grasslands at this height which is in between the dense forest of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Earlier, the number of Nilgiri Tahr in such areas is huge but due to poaching and deforestation of the forest, the number of Nilgiri Tahr has reduced significantly to less than 100 in the 20th century.
But after that scientist has seen a spike in the population of Nilgiri tahr which has now reached to 2500.
Most of this population can be spotted in the Eravikulam national park of Munnar.
One other wildlife sanctuary where you can spot Nilgiri Tahr is Periyar national park.
FAQs
Is Nilgiri tahr becoming endangered species of goat?
Yes, Nilgiri Tahr is an endangered species of a goat that is mostly found in mountain areas. This species is getting endangered due to poaching. Earlier it was mostly found in the beautiful mountains of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
What are the reasons behind the killing of this goat species?
Some of the prime reasons why these species are getting killed are poaching and lack of forest for their living due to the cutting of trees.
What is the diet of Nilgiri Tahr?
Nilgiri Tahr eats grass for their living whereas they always live in the fear of getting attacked by wild animals like lion, leopard, tiger, etc.
What is the number of Nilgiri Tahr left in the country?
In the goat species which is getting endangered, there is hardly less than a hundred Nilgiri tahr left in the forest areas of India.
What are the main areas of India where you can encounter this endangered goat species?
Nilgiri Tahr is found in the hilly terrains of India. Talking about the states this goat species is mostly found in the hilly areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu like Munnar.
Final Verdict for Nilgiri Tahr – An endangered goat species
Nilgiri Tahr is an endangered species of goat which varies in size and weight 88 according to the gender.
It is mostly found in the Eravikulam national park of Kerala which is located near to the Munnar hill station.
One other wildlife sanctuary where you can spot Nilgiri Tahr is Periyar national park.
If you are a wildlife enthusiast and want to spot this endangered species of goat and you are planning to visit Munnar hill station with your friends or family in the coming weekend.
Then this article will help you in gathering more details regarding Nilgiri Tahr.
Kindly let us know in the comment section if the details mentioned in this article help gather in-depth knowledge regarding Nilgiri Tahr. Do also let us know in the comment section if you are looking for more details regarding this endangered species of the goat!