Takins budorcas taxicolor on mountain hillside,natural wildlife reserve near Thimphu Bhutan Asia Horizontal 91419_Bhutan-Takins
Takins are 100 to 130 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 650 kg. They have a thick golden wool which turns black on the under-belly. Both sexes have small horns which run parallel to the skull and then turn upwards in a short point, these are around 30 cm are found in bamboo forests at altitudes of 2,000 to 4,000 metres where they eat grass, buds and leaves. Takin are diurnal, resting in the heat on particularly sunny days. Takins gather in small herds in winter and herds of up to a hundred individuals in the summer, old males are solitary. Some theorise that the Takin may be the source of the Golden Fleece in Greek reason for Bhutan selecting the Takin as the national animal is based on both its uniqueness and its strong association with the country's religious history and mythology. According to legend, when the great saint Lama Drukpa Kunley (Kuenlay) (called "the divine madman") visited Bhutan in the 15th century, a large congregation of devotees gathered around the country to witness his magical powers. The people urged the lama to perform a miracle. However, before complyig, he demanded that he'd be given a whole cow and a goat to eat. Having devoured both,leaving only the bones, he stuck the goat's head on the bones of the cow. To everyone's amazement upon a command uttered by Drukpa Kuenlay, the animal came to life , arose, ran to the meadow and began to graze. This animal came to be known as the dong gyem tsey (takin) and to this day, these animals can be seen grazing on the mountain meadows of the Kingdom of Due to its uniqueness, the Takin continues to befuddle taxonomists. Unable to relate it to any other animal, they have put it in a category by itself, budorcas taxicolor.
Size: 4638px × 3744px
Location: National Wild life Reserve Thimphu Bhutan Asia
Photo credit: © DV Wildlife / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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