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Name : Takin ( Budorcas taxicolor ) ; four subspecies : Bhutan takin ( B. taxicolor whitei ) ; golden takin ( B. taxicolor bedfordi ) ; Mishmi takin ( B. taxicolor taxicolor ) ; and Sichuan takin ( B. taxicolor tibetana )
Where it lives : Alpine zone and forested valleys in Asia , ranging through domain of Bhutan , Myanmar , northerly India , fundamental and southernChinaand Tibet
The golden takin (B. taxicolor bedfordi) may have inspired the golden fleece of Greek mythology.
What it run through : Seasonally available vegetation , particularly leave from Tree and shrubs . It will also eat on grasses and forbs . In wintertime it will eat cranky twig when its preferent nutrient is not available .
Why it ’s awesome : Takins are bizarre - looking bovids — relative of cows , sheep , goats and other cloven - hooved mammals . They have moose - like noses and short , stumpy leg supporting large , stocky bodies . Both sexes have wildebeest - like horns , which emerge from the crown of their question and curve upward .
Their smelly , shaggy-coated fur grade from grizzly - brown to reddish or chocolate brown , depending on the subspecies . Perhaps most strikingly , the pelt of the prosperous takin is , as its name suggests , a lambent golden color . The gold gnu goat may have inspired the golden sheepskin of Greek mythology . In the narration , explorer Jason is send on a quest to recover the sheepskin , guide from a winged ram generate by Zeus , so as to claim the stool that had been usurped from his father .
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Takins subsist in hilly environment in Asia , traveling up and down the slopes in lookup of food . Their peculiarly accommodate split hoof help them get across the usurious , rocky terrain .
In the summer , when food is plentiful and pairing takes spot , Budorcas taxicolor form herd of up to 300 individuals , but they then split into smaller groups of around 15 to 30 brute in the wintertime months . Herds are largely distaff ; males are lone except in breed season .
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male person spray urine over their legs , chests and faces , perhaps as an olfactive indicator of ascendence .
Takins have few predators , though C leopards may take calf , while leopards , Panthera tigris , wolves and Asiatic black bears occasionally prey on adults . When they feel danger , takins discourage the ruck with a coughing sound , sending the others take flight into the undergrowth where they lie down and veil .
All subspecies are think vulnerableby the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) — andrecent researchsuggests that their range may be smaller than previously calculate , potentially meaning these Capricorn - corresponding mash - ups are at greater risk than we know .
