What is 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 descendant of wild Indian gauror 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 rainforests. 
• 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 markings. Other than these two, albino or pure black is also found.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I