Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A large wild ox (Bos sauveli) of Cambodia, having a gray or blackish coat and, in the male, a large dewlap and long, spreading horns.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A wild, forest-dwelling ox, Bos sauveli, from Vietnam and surrounding countries

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Khmer kọọprẹy, wild ox : kọọ, cow, ox (from Old Khmer go, from Sanskrit gauḥ, go-; see gwou- in Indo-European roots) + prẹy, forest (from Old Khmer vrai).]

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Examples

  • The paper, "Resolving a zoological mystery: the kouprey is a real species," published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, can be downloaded here.

    Archive 2007-09-01 2007

  • The researchers had predicted, based on a study of kouprey anatomy, that the kouprey was a hybrid form and would show mitochondrial DNA similar to that of the banteng.

    Archive 2006-12-01 2006

  • The kouprey, which is now the national animal of Cambodia, may have originated as a domestic hybrid, between banteng and zebu cattle, that later became wild.

    Archive 2006-12-01 2006

  • Discovered by Western scientists only in 1937, † the kouprey was the last large mammal to enter the biology books.

    6 Wild Banteng 1983

  • The kouprey is a candidate for domestication and has important potential as breeding stock.

    6 Wild Banteng 1983

  • The Siamese crocodile, the banteng, a species of wild cattle, and a wild ox known as the kouprey are each Critically Endangered.

    Rainforest Portal RSS Newsfeed 2009

  • A recent genetic analysis of kouprey samples shows that, despite recent arguments that the animal was a hybrid, it is in fact a distinct species.

    Archive 2007-09-01 2007

  • Officials cite the region's ethereal landscapes and its wildlife, including exotic birds, elephants and possibly kouprey, the mysterious and rare wild forest cow believed to live in northern Cambodia and surrounding areas.

    Opening Asia's Hidden Wilderness 2009

  • If the kouprey or Cambodian wild ox Bos sauvalis (EN), were to be rediscovered on the Cambodian border in the Dongrak mountains which are a continuation of the Phanom Dongrak range, the Parks would provide suitable habitat for its reintroduction.

    Dong Phayayan Khao-Yai Forest Complex, Thailand 2009

  • The kouprey probably is globally extinct, although intermittent reports from remote areas of northern and eastern Cambodia keep hopes alive.

    Central Indochina dry forests 2008

Comments

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  • a critically endangered ungulate found mainly in northern Cambodia.

    September 13, 2007