The scenic Blue Mountains which rise steeply to form extensive tablelands and grassy downs with densely forested ravines is the home of the majestic looking tahr, one of the most famouse denizens of the Nilgiris. The tahr is also found along the western ghats and the elevated hilltops of the Rajamalai, Eravikulam and Perambikulam sanctuaries in Kerala, where this docile wild goat, which was once extensively hunted for its meat, now roams freely on the open grassy slopes. The tahr owes its relatively undisturbed existence to the intervention of various wildlife associations which have ensured its protection from the lethal impact of commerce.

The tahr at 38-42 inches to the shoulder is slightly larger than its Himalayan counterpart. Its short crisp coat and its distinctive pair of horns make it conspicuous. The mature bucks have a brown-black coat with an impressive white saddle patch on the back, a feature that has earned them the name "saddle back". The wrinkled horns of the agile tahr meet at the base and rise parallel for some length after which they diverge and curve back. The does, who are less stocky than the bucks, and the subadults are gray in colour with a yellowish brown tinge. The doe normally gives birth to one kid at a time. The tahr generally feeds on grass and shrubs.

Lone Sentinel
Roaming over open terrain and grass-covered hills, and equally at ease on steep cliffs, the saddleback, lone sentinel of the hills, communicates an instant warning at the first sign of danger to the rest of its herd grazing elsewhere along the crests of the hills.

The female clique comprising of ten tahr normally graze together. When cornered by predators the female tahrs form an impenetrable semi-circle and prepare for an open confrontation by lowering their heads and pointing their sharp horn tips at the enemy.

An Element Of The Supernatural......
The saddlebacks which were a poacher's delight for years, seem to have managed to survive the supernatural powers attributed to them by awed humans. The saddleback is said to take a special delight in confusing the hunter. The buck is believed to have the power to conjure up dense clouds to befuddle its purser.

The old Alpine ibex, a relative of the Nilgiri tahr, apparently had a habit of appearing almost out of thin air and then, just as suddenly, disappearing. This perpetuated the popular myth that the Devil lives on the Alpine peaks, much like an old ibex with its long horns and red eyes.

The 'grand old' buck is most sought after in times of drought as it guides its herd to distant pastures and waterholes.

An Isolated Group
The Nilgiri tahr is one of the few isolated groups of mountain goats that are normally found in the Himalayas and Central Asian highlands stretching right to the Alpine ranges of Europe. Two other groups of mountain goats are found on the high mountains of Arabia and Ethiopia.

This nimble mountain goat has enthralled naturalists by its agility in scaling vertical rock faces and cliffs in a swift effortless series of leaps right to the peak.