Animal Directory Featured species in the planned Asian Highlands habitat
Takin
Budorcas taxicolor
VU
Fun facts
- Looks like a cross between a wildebeest, a musk ox, and a goat-antelope — and is actually most closely related to sheep.
- The national animal of Bhutan, where folklore credits its creation to the 15th-century saint Drukpa Kunley assembling it from a goat's head and a cow's skeleton at a feast.
- Secretes a strong-smelling oily substance across its entire coat that waterproofs the fur against the cold mists of its high-elevation home.
- Migrates seasonally up and down the eastern Himalayan slopes, climbing above 4,000 m in summer and descending into bamboo forests in winter — sharing range with both Giant Pandas and Red Pandas.
- IUCN listed as **Vulnerable**, with hunting and habitat loss steadily fragmenting the remaining herds across China, Bhutan, Myanmar, and northeast India.
From the master plan
The Takin shares the Mountain Pasture habitat with grazing-route sightlines toward the Snow Leopard Ridge above. The terraced enclosure imitates the steep, shrubby slopes of Sichuan and Bhutan where wild herds gather around mineral licks, giving guests a long, slow read on a strange and rarely-seen species.
IUCN status sourced from the Takin assessment (Song, Smith & MacKinnon, 2008) on the IUCN Red List —
Budorcas taxicolorlisted as Vulnerable with a decreasing population trend.