The Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri

Hills and the southern portion of the Western Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in
southernIndia.It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu.
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t!molog!
It is "no#n locall! as the Nilgiri Ibex or simpl! Ibex (leading to potential confusion #ith the
$true$ i%e&). In the Tamil 'anguage it is called warryato or $(araiaadu$) the term %eing
composed of t#o Tamil #ords) wurrai a precipice) and aadu) a goat. It #as pre(iousl!
named Capra warryato %! Gra!.
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Its closest relati(es are sheep (genus Ovis). +ntil 2,,-) it #as placed #ith the Himala!an
Tahr(Hemitragus jemlahicus) and the .ra%ian Tahr (Arabitragus jayakari) in the
genus Hemitragus. Ho#e(er) it has recentl! %een transferred to a ne#
genus Nilgiritragus %ecause it is geneticall!more similar to mem%ers of the genus Ovis than
to other tahrs.
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0escription
The Nilgiri Tahrs are stoc"! goats #ith short) coarse fur and a %ristl! mane. 1ales are larger
than the females) and ha(e a dar"er color #hen mature. 2oth se&es ha(e cur(ed horns)
#hich are larger in the males) reaching up to /, cm for males and *, cm for females. .dult
males #eigh 3,45,, "g and stand a%out 5,, cm tall at the shoulder. .dult males de(elop a
light gre! area or $saddle$ on their %ac"s and are hence called $saddle%ac"s$.
Ha%itat
These tahrs inha%it the open montane grassland ha%itat of the 6outh Western Ghats
montane rain forests ecoregion. .t ele(ations from 52,, to 27,, m (generall! a%o(e
2,,, m)) the forests open into grasslands interspersed #ith poc"ets of stunted forests)
"no#n as sholas. These grassland ha%itats are surrounded %! dense forests at the lo#er
ele(ations. The Nilgiri Tahrs formerl! ranged o(er these grasslands in large herds) %ut
hunting and poaching in the nineteenth centur! reduced their population to as fe# as 5,,
animals %! the earl! 2,th centur!. 6ince that time their populations ha(e increased
some#hat) and presentl! num%er a%out 2,,, indi(iduals. Their range e&tends o(er /,, "m
from north to south) and ra(i"ulam National 8ar" is home to the largest population. The
other signi9cant concentration is in the Nilgiri Hills) #ith smaller populations in the .namalai
Hills)8eri!ar National 8ar") 8alni Hills and other poc"ets in the Western Ghats south of
ra(i"ulam) almost to India:s southern tip.