ish-brown coat. Both sexes have heavy horns that turn outward from the center of the forehead and then curve up and backward.
Goral (Naemorhedus goral).* This small Asian goatlike bovine has slightly backward curving cylindrical horns and a coarse brownish-grey coat. It is related to the chamois and serow (see below) but is distinguished from them by peculiarities in skull form, as well as by smaller size, shorter horns, and the absence of face glands. Gorals are native to a vast area, ranging from the Himalayas to eastern Siberia.
Serow (Capricorhis sumatrensis). The serow has been called a "goatantelope." Found in Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, the eastern Himalayas, and China, it lives on forest-clad slopes, such as the mountains of southern China that are the home of the giant panda. Serows have coarse black hair, long pointed ears, a distinct mane, and short, backward pointing horns.
Native species of goats are also valuable genetic resources of Asia and examples include ibex (Capra ibex), markhor (Capra falconeri), and bharal (Pseudois nayaur). There are also various species of sheep, including the various races of argalis (Ovis ammon), which form small herds in the mountains, often above timberline. Although robust and short-legged, these animals can move about quickly and easily over difficult slopes. Soviet animal breeders apparently are exploring some of the possibilities of using argalis in animal husbandry. They are crossing domestic sheep with arkhar (Ovis ammon karelini) to produce a commercially viable hybrid.
The marketable size of lamb might be increased appreciably to provide larger, leaner cuts of meat by crossing domestic sheep with the Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii), which is as big as deer and has a mature body weight of 400-500 pounds. Marco Polo sheep meat is reported to have none of the "mutton" favor of domestic sheep. Thus, crosses might enhance consumer acceptance of sheep meat.
Asia also has several species of deer that could have been included.§ The musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) is now domesticated in China for musk production and is a resource with a promising future. Also, sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), Asia's largest deer, may prove useful in husbandry. Several deer species are being farmed in New Zealand and ruse deer (Cervus rusa), which are native to South and Southeast Asia, are being farmed in Mauritius, Australia, and Papua New Guinea for meat and medicinal by-products. Two small, goat-sized Asian deer, the hog deer (Cervus porcinus) and the barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), may also be worth considering.