Rare creature appears on trail camera in Thailand — then its family follows
In the forests of Thailand, a massive creature moves slowly through the trees.
From a distance, it may seem like the large, black figure is moving without touching the ground. Really, it’s just a bovine with stocking-like legs that blend into the tall grass.
The animal is a wild gaur, the world’s largest living cow, and it calls the mountain forests of India, southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula home.
Despite their large size, sometimes more than 6 feet tall, the species is considered vulnerable thanks to pressures like deforestation and poaching.
Now, a Thai national park is celebrating good gaur news — a new family.
Trail cameras stationed in Huai Kha Khaeng Forest captured the moments adults and calves walked through the national park, wildlife officials said in an April 29 Facebook post from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
Officials said seeing young gaur in the park is a positive sign for the rare species and shows good health of the ecosystem in order to sustain the gaur.
Gaur reproducing in the wild means there are enough food resources and a generally safe environment, officials said, a reflection of previous conservation efforts.
In previous decades, gaur were hunted not only for their meat but also for their horns and medicinal products, according to the World Land Trust. This was partially responsible for a 70% population decline since 1986.
In order to protect the species from extinction, samples of their genetic material have been cryogenically preserved, according to the trust.
The Huai Kha Khaeng Forest, where the gaur family was found, is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site and includes more than 1.4 million acres of protected forest.
Aside from gaur, the forest is home to other rare creatures like tigers and elephants, according to UNESCO.
The park is in western Thailand near the eastern border of Myanmar.
ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, was used to translate the Facebook post from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Rare creature appears on trail camera in Thailand — then its family follows."
