varai aadu ...

the ancestors of the modern sheep and goats (both rather vague and ill-defined terms) are thought to have moved into mountainous regions. sheep becoming specialised occupants of the foothills and nearby plains, and relying on flight and clumping for defence against predators, goats adapting to very steep terrain where predators are at a disadvantage.

halfway around the world from england and america is the habitat of an animal halfway between a goat and a sheep.

the nilgiri tahr (nilgiritragus hylocrius) a very agile, hooved animal native to the nilgiri hills and the southern portion of the western ghats range in southernmost india. it is known locally as the "nilgiri ibex" or "varai aadu" in tamil, which translates to "cliff goat", "varai" literally means boundry line. until 2005, it was placed with the himalayan tahr and the arabian tahr in the genus "hemitragus" (goat antelope). however, recent genetic studies have placed it in a new genus "nilgiritragus", because it is genetically more similar to members of the genus "ovis" (sheep) than to other tahrs.

a fully grown male stands about 100 cm at the shoulder and weighs about 100 kg. the tahrs primarily inhabit the open montane grassland habitat and rocky slopes. at elevations from 1200 to 2600 m (generally above 2000 m), these grassland habitats are surrounded by dense forests and rocky outcrops at the lower elevations. they formerly ranged over in large herds, but hunting and poaching in the nineteenth century reduced their population to as few as 100 animals by the early 20th century. since that time their populations have increased somewhat, and presently number about 2000 individuals.