Indian bison dies after territory fight in China

An Indian bison, the world's largest extant wild cattle facing extinction, has died of fatal skull damage after a recent fight for territory in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local forest police said Sunday.

The animal, which was 2.7 metres long, 0.5 metre wide and 1.9 metres tall, fled to a nearby village at Xishuangbanna after a fatal fight for territory and died, China's state-run Xinhua news agency quoted local police sources as saying.

The Indian bison, also known as gaur, roams in primitive forests in tropical and subtropical regions and is placed under state top protection in China.

This species is native to the the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List since 1986.

A survey by Xishuangbanna state-level nature reserve between 2013 and 2014 showed there had been a decline in the number of Indian bisons in the region since the 1980s.

By 2014, there were fewer than 167 Indian bisons in the region, compared to between 605 and 712 in the 1980s.