Tim Melling – Sichuan Takin

Tim writes: this is a young Sichuan Takin (Budorcas taxicolor tibetana) venturing out onto a road.  I love its innocent expression and Mona Lisa smile plus its tiny imp-like horns that will soon develop into huge Musk Ox-like horns.  This one is only a year old but males can reach 1.4m at the shoulder and weigh up to 350 kg. They do look a bit like a Wildebeest but they are a relative of wild sheep.  They are quite elusive as they live high in mountainous forests in summer but venture to lower altitudes for the winter.  They usually remain hidden in the forests during the day but venture out at night.  We stumbled across several but they seemed to be extremely skittish and usually moved away as soon as they saw us.  This one paused long enough for a photograph before trotting across the road to hide again in the bamboo.  When alarmed they uttered a loud coughing bark that warned other Takins, who then immediately scattered.  They have a rather strong musky odour that you can smell as you walk through the forests, rather like you can smell where foxes have been in Britain.  The scent immediately evoked childhood memories of zoo animal houses though I’m sure I never saw a Takin in captivity.

They used to be called Golden Takins but taxonomists have divided them up into four species or subspecies.  The Sichuan or Tibetan Takin has a more sullied pelage on the flanks.  I photographed this one in a mountainous forest at Tangjiahe in Sichuan.

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