The list of endangered species of the Himalaya includes the Royal Bengal Tiger, snow leopard and musk deer, but does not include the mithun, the semi-wild cattle that inhabit the lower hills of the Eastern Himalaya. And yet, mithuns are also threatened: by changing tribal lifestyles and values, commercial encroachment, and loss of habitat. In more ways than one, the tribals' traditional way of life and the mithuns' survival are linked together. When one goes, so does the other.
The range of the mithun (Bas Frontalis) extends from Bhutan through Arunachal Pradesh, U-turns south to the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Lusai hills, and extends as far down as the Arakan hills in Burma. The animal lives in the neighbourhood of shifting cultivators because it is fond of the soft and tender shoots of clearings rather than forest grasses. It takes to the high humidity which comes with the area's heayy rainfall but avoids the swampy lowlands of the foothills.
There are many tales and myths woven around the beast's origin, but in all probability it is a cross between the yak and the gaur. While it is heavily built and looks ferocious, the mithun is really a very docile animal, quite vulnerable to predators,
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