Nilgiri tahr - Video Learning - WizScience.com

• published: 13 Aug 2015
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The "Nilgiri tahr" known locally as the "Nilgiri ibex" or simply "ibex", is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in Southern India. It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu. Despite its local name, it is more closely related to the sheep of the "Ovis" genus than the Ibex and wild goats of the "Capra" genus. In the Tamil language it is called "varaiaadu" , the term being composed of two Tamil words, "wurrai" a precipice, and "aadu", a goat.In Malayalam it is pronounced as "Varayaadu" . The ancient word in classical Tamil was "varudai" . It was previously named "Capra warryato" by Gray. Its closest relatives are sheep . Until 2005, it was placed with the Himalayan tahr and the Arabian tahr in the genus "Hemitragus". However, it has recently been transferred to a new genus "Nilgiritragus" because it is genetically more similar to members of the genus "Ovis" than to other tahrs. The Nilgiri tahr is a stocky goat with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane. Males are larger than females and of darker color when mature. Both sexes have curved horns, reaching up to 40 cm for males and 30 cm for females. Adult males weigh 80 to and stand about 100 cm tall at the shoulder. Adult males develop a light grey area on their backs and are thus called "saddlebacks". The Nilgiri tahr inhabits the open montane grassland habitat of the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion. At elevations from 1200 to, the forests open into grasslands interspersed with pockets of stunted forests, locally known as "sholas". These grassland habitats are surrounded by dense forests at the lower elevations. The Nilgiri tahrs formerly ranged over these grasslands in large herds, before but hunting and poaching in the nineteenth century reduced their population. Wiz Science™ is "the" learning channel for children and all ages. SUBSCRIBE TODAY Disclaimer: This video is for your information only. The author or publisher does not guarantee the accuracy of the content presented in this video. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Background Music: "The Place Inside" by Silent Partner (royalty-free) from YouTube Audio Library. This video uses material/images from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri+tahr, which is released under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . This video is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . To reuse/adapt the content in your own work, you must comply with the license terms.