Chinese Goral
Nemorhaedus caudatus arnouxianus

Gorals belong to a small group of hooved animals that have similarities to both goats and antelopes.  Chinese gorals are found in eastern Russia and China to western Thailand and eastern Myanmar. They live in mountainous regions at an altitude of 3300-13,500 feet.

Both males and females have short backward-facing horns. Their grayish-brown coat grows thick shaggy wool in winter for warmth. This woolly undercoat is covered by longer coarser hair which helps protect them from the cold.

Goral live in family groups of around six individuals and they graze on plants, grass, leaves and branches in the morning and evening. Goral will spend the remainder of the day, resting among rocks. When faced with danger, the goral will freeze, ready to run if the danger becomes too acute.

Male gorals are solitary for most of the year apart from the mating season in September and October. After six months, the female will give birth to one young.

Chinese gorals are listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN “Red List of Threatened Species” and are protected from trade by Appendix I of CITES. Gorals are threatened by over-hunting, poaching and the fragmentation of the fragile mountainous terrain where they live.

There are currently less than 2,000 Chinese gorals in the wild but current preservation laws are beginning to help stabilize the wild populations.