ABSTRACT
Cattle evolved in the developing grassland regions of India 2 million years ago (van Vuure, 2005). Their ungulate niche was the forest fringes, where grassland and trees combined and they could take advantage of both as food sources. Although humans slaughtered all remaining Bos primigenius cattle about 500 years ago, still there remain some wild cattle that are closely related to them in south Asia, in particular the gaur cattle (Bos gaurus) (Fig. 1). Gaur cattle still occupy the forest fringes of India and Malaysia, browsing and grazing as their common ancestors with the European cattle, Bos taurus, would have done. Study of the behaviour of these close relatives of domestic cattle would increase our understanding of the needs of Bos taurus cows.
