Scientists and tribal farmers from the Northeast have jointly raised a request to the Central government to include Mithun (Bos frontalis) under key central sector schemes such as the National Livestock Mission (NLM).
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 descendent of wild Indian gaur, or 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 rain forests.
It is the state animal of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
The ‘Soulung’ festival is observed annually by the Adi tribes of Arunachal Pradesh to commemorate the birth and arrival of Mithun on this earth.
Features:
Mithun appears somewhat similar to that of the 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 skin color of the head and body is blackish-brown in both sexes, and the forehead is creamy white or yellowish in color.
They move in small groups with one or two males and several females and calves.
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