Himalayan tahr  (Hemitragus jemlahicus)

Authenticated (10/03/05) by Dr Michael J.B. Green, Director of Research and Strategy, Broads Authority.

• Dominance hierarchy: A system within a social group of animals which places some individuals in a more dominant position to others, allowing them more control over food or mates. The hierarchy is based on the outcome of interactions between individuals such as displaying or fighting.
• Gestation: the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth.
• Keratin: a group of fibrous proteins that form the basis of hair, nails, wool etc in animals.
• Ruminating: A digestive process typified by the chewing of cud, which enables plant cellulose walls to be broken down in the stomach for energy. The vegetation is stored, regurgitated for more chewing, then broken down by specialised bacteria.
• Rut: the mating season.
• Ungulates: hoofed, grazing mammals.

1. IUCN Red list (April, 2009)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org
2. Animal Diversity List (October, 2003)
   http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/hemitragus/h._jemlahicus
3. Green, M.J.B. (1979) Tahr in a Nepal national park. Oryx, 15: 140 - 144.
4. Blue Planet Biomes (October, 2003)
   http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/himalayan_tahr.htm
5. Ultimate Ungulate (March, 2008)
   http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Hemitragus_jemlahicus.html
6. Macdonald, D. (2001) The New Encyclopedia of Mammals.Oxford University Press, Oxford.
7. Nowak, R.M. (1995) Walker’s Mammals of the World.The Johns Hopkins University Press, Maryland.
8. Shackleton, D. (1997) Wild Sheep and Goats and their Relatives.IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
9. Green, M.J.B. (1993) Nature reserves of the Himalaya and the mountains of Central Asia.Oxford University Press, New Delhi .