Nemorhaedus evansi

217.

Burmese Goral

Nemorhaedus evansi

French: Goral d'Evans / German: Burma-Goral / Spanish: Goral de Birmania

Taxonomy. Urotragus evans: Lydekker, 1905,

Burma (Myanmar).

Previously classified as a subspecies of N. griseus. The generic name was originally spelled Naemorhedus, but the spelling Nemorhaedus, despite being an unjustified emendation, is “in prevailing” usage and is used here. Monotypic.

Distribution. C & S Myanmar and Thailand, E to the Chiengmai district and S to Raheng, N into Yunnan, China to about 25° N.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 50-70 cm, tail 12-18 cm, shoulder height 50-70 cm; weight 20-30 kg. Horn length 15-18 cm. The Burmese Goral has a pale brown body; the underside is pale gray-fawn; legs are golden to creamy gold or browner, with black line on front. A dorsalstripe is somewhat prominent.

Habitat. The Burmese Goral occurs in rocky, steep terrain with tall vegetation cover, often on slopes over 60°. In one area, they were found at elevations of 1600-1970 m.

Food and Feeding. Probably primarily a diet of grasses.

Breeding. The gestation of the Burmese Goral is probably 180 days; twinning is rare.

Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for the Burmese Goral, but likely crepuscular as in other gorals.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Male Burmese Gorals are solitary and likely territorial like other gorals. Mean group size is 1-6 individuals with a population density of about 5 ind/km?®.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I (under N. griseus). Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List (as N. g. evansi). Poaching, deforestation, and agricultural development are causes of declines and fragmentation of Burmese Goral populations. Status of most populations is unclear because of lack of monitoring. Lack of enforcement of game and forest extraction laws is a major concern.

Bibliography. Akonda (1997), Duc (1997), Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1966), Francis (2008), Groves & Grubb (1985, 2011), Grubb (2005), Lekagul & McNeely (1988), Lovari (1997), MacKinnon (2008), Salter & Shackleton (1997), Soma & Kada (1984), Wang Sung et al. (1997).