Editing Gaur (section)

=== Feeding ecology ===
[[File:Gaur (Indian Bison) at Periyar National Park & Wildlife Sanctuary.jpg |thumb|A gaur herd in [[Periyar National Park]]]] 
[[File:Wary gaur (51076025126).jpg|thumb|A young gaur eating leaf in Kanha National Park]]
The gaur [[Grazing (behaviour)|grazes]] and [[browsing (herbivory)|browses]] mostly the upper portions of plants, such as leaf blades, stems, seeds and flowers of grass species, including kadam ''[[Adina cordifolia]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Shukla, R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Khare, P. K. |year=1998 |title=Food habits of wild ungulates and their competition with live stock in Pench Wildlife Reserve central India |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=418–421 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbombay951998bomb/page/418/mode/2up}}</ref>
During a survey in the [[Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park]], gaurs were observed to feed on 32 species of plants. They consume herbs, young shoots, flowers, fruits of elephant apple (''[[Dillenia]]'') with a high preference for leaves. Food preference varies by season. In winter and [[monsoon]], they feed on preferably fine and fresh [[true grass]]es and herb species of the [[Fabaceae|legume family]], such as tick clover (''[[Desmodium triflorum]]''), but also browse on leaves of shrub species such as [[Strobilanthes callosus|karvy]] (''Strobilanthes callosus''), [[Gardenia latifolia|Indian boxwood]] (''Gardenia latifolia''), mallow-leaved crossberry (''[[Grewia]] abutifolia''), East-Indian screw tree (''[[Helicteres]]'') and the chaste tree (''[[Vitex negundo]]''). In summer, they also feed on bark of teak (''[[Tectona grandis]]''), on fruit of golden shower tree (''[[Cassia fistula]]''), and on the bark and fruit of cashew (''[[Anacardium occidentale]]''). Gaur spent most of their daily time feeding. Peak feeding activity was observed between 6:30 and 8:30 in the mornings and between 17:30 and 18:45 in the evenings. During the hottest hours of the day, they rest in the shade of big trees.<ref name=Gad>{{cite journal |author=Gad, S. D. |author2=Shyama, S. K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |title=Studies on the food and feeding habits of Gaur ''Bos gaurus'' H. Smith (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae) in two protected areas of Goa |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=128–130 |doi=10.11609/jott.o1589.128-30 |doi-access=free|s2cid=84861488}}</ref>

They may debark trees due to shortages of preferred food, and of minerals and trace elements needed for their nutrition, or for maintaining an optimum fiber/protein ratio for proper digestion of food and better assimilation of nutrients. They may turn to available browse species and fibrous teak bark in summer as green grass and herbaceous resources dry up. High concentrations of calcium (22400 ppm) and phosphorus (400 ppm) have been reported in teak bark, so consumption of teak bark may help animals to satisfy both mineral and other food needs. Long-term survival and conservation of these herbivores depend on the availability of preferred plant species for food. Hence, protection of the historically preferred habitats used by gaur is a significant factor in [[conservation biology]].<ref name="Gad" />