Kincraig, Scotland, UK. 10th June, 2014. The Royal Zoological Society for Scotland, Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig, Invernesshire, Scotland, UK introduced their newest baby Mishmi takin to the public today, Wednesday, 10th June, 2015. The Mishmi takin (Budorcas taxicolor taxicolor) is an endangered goat-antelope native to India, Myanmar and the People's Republic of China. They have called the calf "Snow" after "John Snow" in the "Game of Thrones" because it was born at the end of April when Scotland several falls of snow. Credit: David Gowans/Alamy Live News
The takin rivals the muskox as the largest and stockiest of the subfamily Caprinae, which includes all goats, sheep, and similar species. Short legs are supported on large, two-toed hooves, which have a highly developed spur. The body is stocky and the chest is deep. The large head is made more distinctive by the long, arched nose, and stout horns that are ridged at the base and can reach 64 cm (25 in) in length. Both sexes have small horns which run parallel to the skull and then turn upwards in a short point, these are around 30 cm (12 in) long. The long, shaggy coat is light in color, with a dark stripe along the back, and males (bulls) also have dark faces. Four subspecies of takin are currently recognised, and these tend to show a variation in coat color. Their thick wool often turns black in color on their undersides and legs. The overall coloration ranges from dark blackish to reddish-brown suffused with grayish-yellow in the eastern Himalayas to lighter yellow-gray in the Sichuan Province to mostly golden or (rarely) creamy-white with fewer black hairs in the Shaanxi Province. The legend of the 'golden fleece', searched for by Jason and the Argonauts, may have been inspired by the lustrous coat of the golden takin (B. t. bedfordi). The hairs of the species can range from 3 cm ( in), on the flanks of the body in summer, up to 24 cm ( in), on the underside of the head in winter. Takin stand 97 to 140 cm (38 to 55 in) at the shoulder and measure a relatively short 160–220 cm (63–87 in) in head-and-body length. The tail adds only a further 12 to cm ( to in). Weights reported are somewhat variable, but the species is quite heavy. According to most reports, the males are slightly larger, reportedly weighing 300–350 kg (660–770 lb) against 250–300 kg (550–660 lb) in females. However, per Betham (1908), females are larger, with the largest captive takin known to the author, at 322 kg (710 lb), having been female.
Size: 3212px × 2448px
Location: RZSS Highland Wildlife Park Kincraig. Inverness-shire. Scotland. UK.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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