Mainland Serow

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Mainland Serow
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Genus: Capricornis
Species: sumatraensis
Binomial name
Capricornis sumatraensis
Linnaeus, 1758

The Mainland Serow, Capricornis sumatraensis is an endangered species of mammal. The Mainland Serow can often be found living alone or in small groups. It is a grazing animal that consumes grass, shoots and leaves. The Serow is most active at dawn and at dusk. It is a territorial animal and typically moves along beaten paths that it creates through its territory. It marks off its territory by depositing droppings and by marking.

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[edit] Distribution

The Mainland Serow can be found in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, southern China, and southeast Asia.

[edit] Physical characteristics

The Mainland Serow possesses guard hairs on its coat that are bristly or coarse and cover the layer of fur closest to its skin to varying degrees. The animal has a mane that runs from the horns to the middle of the dorsal aspect of the animal between the scapulae covering the skin. The horns are only characteristic of the males and are light-colored, approximately six inches in length, and curve slightly towards the animal's back. The Mainland Serow has been known to grow to be six feet long and three feet high at the shoulder, and an adult typically weighs over 300 pounds.

[edit] Habitat and diet

The Mainland Serow is a terrestrial dwelling animal often inhabiting forest, tropical and mountainous environments. The animal generally lives alone or in small groups and is territorial. The territory of the Mainland Serow usually extends a few square miles. The Serow generally does not stray from this territory and feeds across this area. The Mainland Serow eats grass, shoots and leaves.

The serow lives alone or in small groups. It is attached to its territory, which usually covers just a few miles square, and does not move far when feeding. It grazes on grass and also eats shoots and leaves. It is most active at dawn and dusk, and spends the rest of the day in thick vegetation. It has paths along which it moves, and traditional spots where it marks its territory and deposits its droppings.

[edit] Reproduction

The gestation period is about eight months. The Mainland Serow gives birth to a single young usually in September or October.

[edit] References

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