The kouprey ( Bos sauveli, Khmer : គោព្រៃ, Koŭprey [ koːprɨj ], “ forest ox ” ; besides known as kouproh, “ grey ox ” ) is a little-known, forest-dwelling, wild bovine species native to Southeast Asia. A young male was sent to the Vincennes Zoo in 1937 where it was described by the french zoologist Achille Urbain and was declared the type specimen. The kouprey has a improbable, specialize torso, long legs, a humped back and long horns. The kouprey has not been sighted since 1969–1970. A television camera trapping survey in the region of these sightings failed to document it in 2011. It has been listed as Critically Endangered, and possibly extinct, on the IUCN Red List since 1996. [ 1 ]
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description [edit ]
Female and male in comparison to a middle-aged homo. The kouprey is believed to be a close relative of the wisent ( Bos primigenius ), gaur ( B. gaurus ), and banteng ( B. javanicus ). A very large ungulate, the kouprey can approach exchangeable sizes to the wild water old world buffalo ( Bubalus arnee ). These bovids measure 2.1 to 2.3 megabyte ( 6.9 to 7.5 foot ) along the head and body, not counting a 1 thousand ( 3.3 foot ) dock, and stand 1.7–1.9 megabyte ( 5.6–6.2 foot ) high at the shoulder. Their slant is reportedly from 680 to 910 kg ( 1,500 to 2,010 pound ). [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Unverified reports of a body mass up to 1,700 kg ( 3,700 pound ) from Vietnam are considered dubious, since they far exceed other recorded weights for the species. Kouprey have tall, narrow, bodies, long branch and humped backs. They can be grey, blue brown or black. The horns of the female are lyre-shaped with antelope-like upward spirals. The horns of the male are across-the-board and arch forward and up ; they begin to fray at the tips at about three years of age. Both sexes have notched nostrils and hanker tails .
Habitat and distribution [edit ]
historical distribution of this species included Cambodia, southern Laos, east Thailand, and western Vietnam. They are thought to be extinct in all areas outside of Cambodia. If calm extant, it likely exists in Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary, Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Mondulkiri Protected Forest, and/or Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary. [ 1 ] Kouprey live in abject, partially forested hills, where they eat chiefly grasses. Their choose habitat is open forest and savannas much near midst monsoon forests. They are diurnal, eating in the open at night and under the forest blanket during the day. They normally travel up to 15 km in a night. They live in herds of up to 20 and are normally led by a individual female. These herds broadly consist of cows and calves, but have bulls during the dry season. Older males form knight bachelor herds. many herds are known to break up and rejoin as they travel and have been found to be mixed in with herds of banteng or rampantly american bison .
diet [edit ]
The Kouprey crop on grasses, including bamboo, ploong, and koom. They besides spend a draw of clock around salt licks and water holes .
status [edit ]
There are estimated to be fewer than 250 kouprey left in the populace. There is some speculation on whether or not they are already extinct. These low numbers are attributed to uncontrolled hunt by locals and soldiers for kernel, horns and skulls for use in traditional chinese medicate, in junction with diseases introduced from cattle and loss of habitat due to agriculture and logging activity.
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Ongoing conservation efforts [edit ]
Kouprey are legally protected in all image states and may be salute in some protected areas. Prince Sihanouk designated it as the national animal of Cambodia in the 1960s, partially due to its mystique. In 1988 an International Workshop on Kouprey Conservation was held in the University of Hanoi. This workshop worked towards the responsible government agencies and concern donors to agree upon a feasible and realistic action plan to save the kouprey. The 2008 IUCN report lists the kouprey as critically endangered ( possibly extinct ). [ 5 ] bombastic mammal surveys continue to take plaza in Cambodia, hoping to rediscover populate kouprey. other surveys have been taking place in the kouprey ‘s diachronic range deoxyadenosine monophosphate recently as 2011. These surveys were done to determine the regions in their image with the highest probability of the kouprey ‘s continuity. This is based on the habitat type and review attempt to date. During the last ten, respective searches for the animal have proven bootless. [ 6 ] No kouprey have been sighted since 1983. There is no captive population. The only person in a western menagerie was sent to the Vincennes Zoo at Paris in 1937 ; that was the individual designated as the type specimen by Urbain. [ 7 ] It died early in World War II. [ 8 ]
relation to other species [edit ]
research published by Northwestern University in London ‘s Journal of Zoology indicated a comparison of mitochondrial sequences showed the kouprey might be a hybrid between a zebu and a banteng. [ 9 ] however, the authors of this sketch rescinded their stopping point. [ 10 ] Because a fossilized skull was found dating from the recently Pleistocene or early Holocene epoch, they concluded the kouprey is not a hybrid. More recent genetic analysis has supported this position. [ 11 ]
References [edit ]
- Alexandre Hassanin, and Anne Ropiquet, 2007. Resolving a zoological mystery: the kouprey is a real species, Proc. R. Soc. B, doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0830
- G. J. Galbreath, J. C. Mordacq, F. H. Weiler, 2006. Genetically solving a zoological mystery: was the kouprey (Bos sauveli) a feral hybrid? Journal of Zoology 270 (4): 561–564.
- Hassanin, A., and Ropiquet, A. 2004. Molecular phylogeny of the tribe Bovini (Bovidae, Bovinae) and the taxonomic status of the kouprey, Bos sauveli Urbain 1937. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 33(3):896-907.
- Steve Hendrix: Quest for the Kouprey, International Wildlife Magazine, 25 (5) 1995, p. 20-23.
- J.R. McKinnon/S.N. Stuart: The Kouprey – An action plan for its conservation. Gland, Switzerland 1989.
- Steve Hendrix: The ultimate nowhere. Trekking through the Cambodian outback in search of the Kouprey, Chicago Tribune – 19 December 1999.
- MacKinnon, J.R., S. N. Stuart. “The Kouprey: An Action Plan for its Conservation. “Hanoi University. 15 Jan. 1988. Web 13 Last Kouprey: Final Project to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund for Grant Number GA 10/0.8” Global Wildlife Conservation. Austin, TX, 25 Apr. 2011. Web 13 Nov. 2013.
Kouprey media from ARKive 
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