Mithun, also called gayal, are cattle relatives kept in parts of northeastern India. A study in Arunachal Pradesh recorded free-ranging, semi-domesticated herds searching the forest for food plants.
A 2021 review describes dark reddish-brown to blackish-brown hair with white markings on the lower legs. Both sexes have horns projecting outward and curving slightly upward. Adult males are larger than females, with more developed muscles and horns. Body form and coat color also differ among regional strains.
From October 2006 to April 2008, researchers followed semi-domesticated mithun under traditional free-range care in West Siang, Arunachal Pradesh. They recorded 42 fodder plants, 37 of them wild. The animals moved around to find preferred plants and ate fresh, tender leaves rather than feeding at one spot for long. This is a local husbandry study, not a survey of wild gaur or every mithun population.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.