Albino gaur

Manjampatti White Bison are a type of Gaur, (Tamil: காட்டேணி kaatteni,or kaattu erumai meaning “forest buffalo”) occasionally seen in the Manjampatti Valley, a Template:Km2 to mi2 protected area at the eastern end of Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, South India. These Gaur are notable for their distinctive ash-grey color as opposed to the almost black color of most Gaur.

Description

Normal colored Gaur bull with typical high dorsal ridge. White Bison photo needed.

Main article: Gaur § Description

The white colored jungle bison is a peculiar subspecie of Gaur (Bos gaurus gaurus).Many subspecies of gaur have been described, but only three subspecies are now recognized. Further research is required to precisely determine the taxonomy of this species.

Gaur were previously numerous all over the Palani Hills, but declined greatly during the 20th century. Now they are protected and their numbers are increasing substantially. The endangered Gaur are the heaviest and most powerful of all wild Bovines. Males have a highly muscular body, with a distinctive dorsal ridge, forming a very powerful appearance. Females are substantially smaller, and their dorsal ridge is less developed. Adult body Length is Template:M to ft to Template:M to ft cm / 8.3-12 ft. Shoulder height is Template:Cm to in to Template:Cm to in. Average males stand about Template:Cm to in to Template:Cm to in at the shoulder. Females are about Template:Cm to in less. Tail length is Template:Cm to in to Template:Cm to in.

The male Indian gaurs' average weight is Template:Kg to lb. Large individuals may exceed Template:Kg to lb. Gaurs in Northern India are the same size as the southern breed, but more of the larger, better specimens can be seen in South India, due to the high concentration of gaur there. Calf and juvenile gaurs have several predators, including Tiger; Panther; Clouded Leopard; Indian Wild Dog and Asian Black Bear, but only tigers are powerful enough to kill adult gaur.

Historic references

There are several herds of Gaur (popularly called bison) in Manjampatti Valley. Earlier the area was well known for Manjampatti White Bison. Only the Manjampatti valley of Udumalpet range is said to harbour White Bison, a very rare animal.

Two local guides guiding some Europeans hoping to see the White Bison said that they had not seen a 'White bison' in the last 15 or 20 years. They admitted quite frankly that this was partly due to the fact that there was no occasion for them to go looking for Gaur.

James L. H. Williams, a British wildlife enthusiast, reported sighting many gaurs with light pink or white skin between 1929 and 1937 during many trips to Manjampatty valley. He reported seeing many herds of Gaur, up to 120 animals in a herd, with most herds having some individuals with color varying from light red through the duns to pure white. In one herd of 20 animals, every animal was of abnormal color. He reported that the white bison had some religious significance to the local Pulayar tribal residents and that they would gently divert outsiders away from any herds with abnormally colored animals Mr. J.C. Gouldsbury reported that there was a mounted specimen of a cow White Bison in the High Range Club in Munnar. This was presented by a Mr. Ranicar who had shot it in the Talinji Area before 1939. The pppelange]] was fawn color but was originially almost cream colored.

Mr. M. A. S. M. Muthuswamy who walked the Kodaikanal-Munnar Road frequently before 1970, saw a herd of four White Bison, which he described as greenish grey in color, on several occasions some years previously. He also saw a fine greenish grey bull in a herd of normal colored gaur at Kamanuthu, just off the ghat road in the Kombu beat on the Tamil Nadu side of the border in 1969.

His brother, Mr Padmanabhan, said he had seen a herd of 5 there also.

A dhobi from Amaravathinagar said he had seen an ash colored bull there while collecting firewood at Kamanuthu in 1969.

Mr. A. J. Packianathan, Senior master of the Sainik School, Amaravathinagar, said he saw four ash colored Gaur in the same area in 1965.

Koolayan, a cattle man of the Malasar tribe, who keeps cattle at Kumulam overlooking the northern slopes of Manjamalai and part of the northern slopes of Mudian Malai said he saw one grey colored Gaur in January 1969, the only one among the many gaur he has ever seen.

His Highness Rajagopala Tondaiman, the Raja of Pudukottai, said he saw one white bull Gaur beyond Kukal in Koilan Alai in 1970 and that he has seen about half a dozen of them in the past 30 years among herds of normal colored Gaur.

A Sinhala Verse reads in part: "Having come swiftly, On the day the excellent white gaur was killed, A scoop of blood was given to thee !" ..."

Recent sightings

In 1972, Rev. Sam Schmitthenner observed two white gaur in Manjampatti Valley. He said:

I took one more hike down into Manjampatti after staying in Kukkal Cave overnight. Early in the morning, we saw a herd of bison, and there on the edge of the herd were two albino calves. Earlier that month I had read an article in Hornbill, a Bombay conservation magazine, about the albino bison of Manjamphatti.

In 1970, E. R. C. Davidar, a famous wildlife researcher, spent several months on behalf of the Bombay Natural History Society in Chinnar trying to spot and photograph this animal. His mission, undertaken to provide scientific evidence to the rumours floating in the air for several decades, did not find success. His report to the BNHS, White Bison of Manjampatti said that the white gaur reported by Williams might have become extinct following the outbreak of an epizootic disease that wiped out several herds from the region in those days. But, tribals living in the forests continued to claim that white gaurs were still there in Chinnar.

In 1998, the then Wildlife Warden of Eravikulam, Mohan Alambath, his Range Officer, V. K. Franzis, and a wildlife enthusiast, V. P. Ajithkumar, claimed sighting this animal in Chinnar.Though they reported the matter in the journal of BNHS the photograph they had taken of the animal lacked clarity.

In 2004, the famous and extremely rare white bison was reported at Chinnar. An unusual white gaur, moving with a herd of dark-skinned gaurs, was spotted in the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Idukki district and photographed by the wildlife photographer, N. A. Nazeer.

In 2006, this possible sub-species was seen and photographed in Manjampatti Valley by Forest Department staff.

In 2007, a rare Manjampatti White Bison was seen in a herd of about eight or ten normal coloured Bison grazing and resting on mountain downs above Kukkal at the northeast corner of Manjampatti Valley.

An 2007 encounter with a White Bison at the jungle lodge near the Chinnar checkpost has been described:

A White Bison reaches the end of the trail and stops at the edge of the clearing. He's huge. Over Template:M to ft tall and Template:M to ft to Template:M to ft long. Sharp horns over Template:Cm to in long. I have no where to go because the bison herd has blocked the other two exits, so I'm just standing there, hoping White Bison will keep walking and I can go back onto the trail. No such luck. He stands there, barely ten feet away from me, and stares. And Stares. I'm thinking, wow, I'm totally going to die right now, because I've got White Bison in front of me and Brown Bison to my left, and neither of them like me here... So for about five full minutes we face off, until White Bison decides the water is more important, and finally meanders off.

In Satpura there are four totally white gaur - presumably albinos or some genetic sport - who, amid their black companions, appear like ghosts in a forest ! ...

Other references

• Brander, A.A.Dunbar, (1936) White Bison, Journal of Bombay Natural History Society. 38(3): 619-620.
• Gouldsbury, J.: White Bison of Manjampatti, Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 68, 823
• Whitaker, Romulus. White Gaur of Manjampatti, Hornbill, Bombay, April-June 1979, 30.