Serow

Extant Species

All five species of serow were until recently also classified under Naemorhedus, which now only contains the gorals. They live in central or eastern Asia.

Like their smaller relatives the gorals, serows are often found grazing on rocky hills, though typically at a lower elevation when the two types of animal share territory. Serows are slower and less agile than gorals, but they nevertheless can climb slopes to escape predation and to take shelter during cold winters or hot summers. Serows, unlike gorals, make use of their preorbital glands in scent marking.

Coloration varies by species, region, and individual. Both sexes have beards and small horns which are often shorter than their ears.

Fossils of serow-like animals date as far back as the late Pliocene, two to seven million years ago. The common ancestor species of the Caprinae subfamily may have been very similar to modern serows.

The Serow and its Subfamilies population is considered to be an endangered species. Most of the Serow sub-species are included in the red list of IUCN with decreasing populations. The Japanese Serow is better protected than the other sub-species of Serows (source: IUCN 2008)