Serow
Serow (banchhagal) name for the mammalian species Capricornis sumatraensis of the family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla. The serow is one of the four animals known as 'goat antelopes', the other three being the goral, chamois, and takin. Serow is very closely related to the goral, from which it differs in being much larger and having small face glands. These glands lie in pits in the skull. Its horns are similar to those of the goral, being black and closely ridged, and about 20 cm long.
The serow is about 90-110 cm tall at shoulder, has a thin rough coat, grizzled black to red, a strong mane on the back of the neck, and very long ears. It lives from Sumatra north to the Himalayas, Szechwan and lowlands of southern China. It is reported to be present in the forests of the chittagong hill tracts.
Serow seems to migrate vertically with the season, going higher up the hills in summer. They are browsers. The gestation period is 7 to 8 months and only one young is born at a time. The species is threatened in Bangladesh. [Noorjahan Sarker]
