The
Takin (IPA: /ˈtɑkɪn/) (
Budorcas taxicolor) is a goat-antelope found in the Eastern
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. There are four subspecies:
B. taxicolor taxicolor, the
Mishmi TakinThe Mishmi Takin is an endangered goat-antelope native to India, Myanmar and the People's Republic of China.The Mishmi Takin lives in southern China and eats bamboo and willow shoots...
;
B. taxicolor bedfordi, the Shanxi or
Golden TakinThe Golden Takin is an endangered goat-antelope native to the People's Republic of China....
;
B. taxicolor tibetana, the Tibetan or
Sichuan TakinThe Sichuan Takin or Tibetan Takin is a subspecies of takin . Listed as a vulnerable species, the Sichuan Takin is native to Tibet and the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Xinjiang in the People's Republic of China...
; and
B. taxicolor whitei, the
Bhutan TakinThe Bhutan Takin is a vulnerable species of goat-antelope, native to Bhutan, India, the People's Republic of China and Tibet....
. Mitochondrial research shows that takin are related to
sheepOvis is a genus of mammals. Its five or more highly gregarious species are known as sheep. The domestic sheep is one member of the genus, and is thought to be descended from the wild mouflon of central and southwest Asia...
, its similarity to the muskox being an example of
convergent evolutionConvergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are similar in...
.
The
Takin (IPA: /ˈtɑkɪn/) (
Budorcas taxicolor) is a goat-antelope found in the Eastern
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. There are four subspecies:
B. taxicolor taxicolor, the
Mishmi TakinThe Mishmi Takin is an endangered goat-antelope native to India, Myanmar and the People's Republic of China.The Mishmi Takin lives in southern China and eats bamboo and willow shoots...
;
B. taxicolor bedfordi, the Shanxi or
Golden TakinThe Golden Takin is an endangered goat-antelope native to the People's Republic of China....
;
B. taxicolor tibetana, the Tibetan or
Sichuan TakinThe Sichuan Takin or Tibetan Takin is a subspecies of takin . Listed as a vulnerable species, the Sichuan Takin is native to Tibet and the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Xinjiang in the People's Republic of China...
; and
B. taxicolor whitei, the
Bhutan TakinThe Bhutan Takin is a vulnerable species of goat-antelope, native to Bhutan, India, the People's Republic of China and Tibet....
. Mitochondrial research shows that takin are related to
sheepOvis is a genus of mammals. Its five or more highly gregarious species are known as sheep. The domestic sheep is one member of the genus, and is thought to be descended from the wild mouflon of central and southwest Asia...
, its similarity to the muskox being an example of
convergent evolutionConvergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are similar in...
. The takin is the national animal of
BhutanThe Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by...
.
Statistics
Takin stand at the shoulder and weigh up to . They have been likened to a "bee-stung
mooseThe moose or common elk , , is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a "twig-like" configuration....
", because of the swollen appearance of the face. They are covered in a thick golden wool which turns black on the under-belly. Both sexes have small
hornA horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
s which run parallel to the skull and then turn upwards in a short point, these are around long.
Takin are found in
bambooThe bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some are giant bamboos, the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world...
forests at altitudes of , where they eat
grassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns...
,
budthumb|right|Flower buds have not yet bloomed into a full-size flower.In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of the stem...
s and
leavesLeaves are an Icelandic five-piece alternative rock band who formed in 2001. Late in 2001 they played with Emiliana Torrini and drew early praise from the New York Times. They came to prominence in 2002 with their debut album, Breathe, drawing comparisons to groups such as The Verve and Doves...
. Takin are
diurnalDiurnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the day and sleeping at night. Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects and birds...
, active in the day, resting in the heat on particularly sunny days. Takin gather in small
herdA herd is a large group of animals and is a form of collective animal behavior. The term is usually applied to mammals, particularly ungulates. Other terms are used for similar phenomena in other types of animal...
s in winter and herds of up to a hundred individuals in the summer, old males are solitary.
Takin in Human Culture
The Takin, specifically the
Golden TakinThe Golden Takin is an endangered goat-antelope native to the People's Republic of China....
may be the source and inspiration of the
Golden FleeceIn Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece is the fleece of the winged ram Chrysomallos . It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest for the fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly...
in
Greek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
.
The 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 KunleyDrukpa Kunley or Drukpa Kunleg also known as "The Divine Madman of the Dragon Lineage" Kunga Legpa was a great master of Mahamudra in the Buddhist tradition....
(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, the saint, in his usual unorthodox and outrageous way, demanded that he first be served a whole cow and a goat for lunch. He devoured these with relish and left only bones. After letting out a large and satisfied burp, he took the goat's head and stuck it onto the bones of the cow. And then with a snap of his fingers, he commanded the strange beast to rise up and graze on the mountainside. To the astonishment of the people the animal arose and ran up to the meadows 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 mountainsides of Bhutan...
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