Wild goat

Wild goat; Temporal range: 2.58–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Pleistocene - Recent
	Bezoar ibex, Capra aegagrus aegagrus
Conservation status
	; Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Caprinae
Genus:	Capra
Species:	C. aegagrus
Binomial name
	Capra aegagrus; Erxleben, 1777
Subspecies
	Capra aegagrus aegagrus; Capra aegagrus blythi; Capra aegagrus chialtanensis; Capra aegagrus turcmenica;

The wild goat or common ibex (Capra aegagrus) is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by destruction and degradation of habitat.^[1]

It is one of the ancestors of the domestic goat (C. hircus).^[2]

Taxonomy[]

Capra aegagrus was the scientific name proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777 for the wild goat populations of the Caucasus and Taurus Mountains.^[3] Capra blythi proposed by Allan Octavian Hume in 1874 were wild goat horns from Sindh.^[4]

The following wild goat subspecies are considered valid taxa:^{[citation needed]}

Bezoar ibex C. a. aegagrus
Sindh ibex C. a. blythi

Distribution and habitat[]

Sindh ibex in Kirthar National Park

Wild goat kid in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park

Wild goat herd in Behbahan

In Turkey, the wild goat occurs in the Aegean, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Southeastern and the Eastern Anatolia Regions up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft) in the Taurus and Anti-Taurus Mountains.^[5]

In the Caucasus, it inhabits montane forests in the river basins of Andi Koysu and its tributaries in Dagestan, Chechnya and Georgia up to 2,700 m (8,900 ft).^[6]^[7]

In Armenia, wild goats were recorded in the Zangezur Mountains, in Khosrov State Reserve, and in highlands of the Syunik Province during field surveys from 2006 to 2007.^[8] In Azerbaijan, wild goats occur in Ordubad National Park, Daralayaz and Murovdag mountain areas in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.^[9] In Iran's , wild goat herds live foremost in west-facing areas with rocky substrates, water sources and steep slopes that are far from roads.^[10] In Turkmenistan, wild goat populations inhabit the mountain ranges of Uly Balkan^[1] and Kopet Dag.^[11] In Pakistan, wild goat herds occur in Kirthar National Park.^[12]

Behaviour and ecology[]

In Kirthar National Park, 283 wild goat groups were observed for 10 months in 1986. The group sizes ranged from two to 131 individuals but varied seasonally, with a mean ratio of two females per male.^[12]

In Dagestan, male wild goats start courting females in mid December. The rutting season lasts until the third week of January. Females give birth to between one and three kids in late June to mid July.^[7]

Older males drive younger males from the maternal herds. The gestation period averages 170 days. Kids are mobile almost immediately after birth. Kids are weaned after 6 months. Female goats reach sexual maturity at 1½–2½ years, males at 3½–4 years. The lifespan of a goat can be from 12 to 22 years.

Threats[]

Wild goat populations are threatened foremost by poaching, habitat loss due to logging, and competition with domestic livestock for food resources.^[1]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Weinberg, P. & Ambarli, H. (2020). "Capra aegagrus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T3786A22145942.
^ Mannen, H.; Nagata, Y.; Tsuji, S. (2001). "Mitochondrial DNA reveal that domestic goat (Capra hircus) are genetically affected by two subspecies of bezoar (Capra aegagurus)". Biochemical Genetics. 39 (5−6): 145−154. doi:10.1023/A:1010266207735. PMID 11530852. S2CID 24146711.
^ Erxleben, J. C. P. (1777). "Capra aegagrus". Systema regni animalis per classes, ordines, genera, species, varietates cvm synonymia et historia animalivm. Classis I. Mammalia. Lipsiae: Weygandt. pp. 520–521.
^ Hume, A. C. (1874). "Note on two apparently undescribed species of Goat from Northern India and a new species of Dove from the Nicobar Islands". Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (December): 240–241.
^ Gundogdu, E.; Ogurlu, I. (2009). "The distribution of Wild Goat Capra aegagrus Erxleben 1877 and population characteristics in Isparta, Turkey" (PDF). Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances. 8 (11): 2318−2324.
^ Akhmedov, E. G.; Yarovenko, Y. A.; Nasrullaev, N. I.; Babaev, E. A.; Akhmedov, S. G. (2009). "Conservation of the Bezoar Goat in the Eastern Caucasus". In Zazanashvili, N.; Mallon, D. (eds.). Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus (PDF). Tbilisi: CEPF, WWF. pp. 26−31.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Weinberg, P. (2014). "On the status and biology of the wild goat in Daghestan (Russia)". Journal of Mountain Ecology. 6 (6): 31−40.
^ Khorozyan, I. G.; Weinberg, P. I.; Malkhasyan, A. G. (2009). "Conservation Strategy for Armenian Mouflon (Ovis [orientalis] gmelini Blyth) and Bezoar Goat (Capra aegagrus Erxleben) in Armenia". In Zazanashvili, N.; Mallon, D. (eds.). Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus (PDF). Tbilisi: CEPF, WWF. pp. 37−45.
^ Talibov, T. H.; Weinberg, P. I.; Mammadov, I. B.; Mammadov, E. N.; Talibov, S. T. (2009). "Conservation Strategy of the Asiatic Mouflon (Ovis [orientalis] gmelini Blyth) and the Bezoar Goat (Capra aegagrus Erxleben) in Azerbaijan". In Zazanashvili, N.; Mallon, D. (eds.). Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus (PDF). Tbilisi: CEPF, WWF. pp. 46−52.
^ Esfandabad, B.S.; Karami, M.; Hemami, M.R.; Riazi, B. & Sadough, M.B. (2010). "Habitat associations of wild goat in central Iran: implications for conservation" (PDF). European Journal of Wildlife Research. 56 (6): 883–894. doi:10.1007/s10344-010-0386-9. S2CID 23188666.
^ Korshunov, V. M. (1994). "Ecology of the Bearded Goat (Capra aegagrus Erxleben 1777) in Turkmenistan". Biogeography and ecology of Turkmenistan. Monographiae Biologicae. 72. Dordrecht: Springer. pp. 231−246.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Edge, W. D. & Olson-Edge, S. L. (1990). "Population Characteristics and Group Composition of Capra aegagrus in Kirthar National Park, Pakistan". Journal of Mammalogy. 71 (2): 156–160. doi:10.2307/1382162. JSTOR 1382162.

External links[]

"Capra aegagrus: Wild goat videos, photos and facts". Arkive. Archived from the original on 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2017-06-18.
"Crete Wild Goat Capra aegagrus cretica". World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

[iucn-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Weinberg, P. & Ambarli, H. (2020). "Capra aegagrus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T3786A22145942.

[2] Mannen, H.; Nagata, Y.; Tsuji, S. (2001). "Mitochondrial DNA reveal that domestic goat (Capra hircus) are genetically affected by two subspecies of bezoar (Capra aegagurus)". Biochemical Genetics. 39 (5−6): 145−154. doi:10.1023/A:1010266207735. PMID 11530852. S2CID 24146711.

[3] Erxleben, J. C. P. (1777). "Capra aegagrus". Systema regni animalis per classes, ordines, genera, species, varietates cvm synonymia et historia animalivm. Classis I. Mammalia. Lipsiae: Weygandt. pp. 520–521.

[4] Hume, A. C. (1874). "Note on two apparently undescribed species of Goat from Northern India and a new species of Dove from the Nicobar Islands". Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (December): 240–241.

[5] Gundogdu, E.; Ogurlu, I. (2009). "The distribution of Wild Goat Capra aegagrus Erxleben 1877 and population characteristics in Isparta, Turkey" (PDF). Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances. 8 (11): 2318−2324.

[6] Akhmedov, E. G.; Yarovenko, Y. A.; Nasrullaev, N. I.; Babaev, E. A.; Akhmedov, S. G. (2009). "Conservation of the Bezoar Goat in the Eastern Caucasus". In Zazanashvili, N.; Mallon, D. (eds.). Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus (PDF). Tbilisi: CEPF, WWF. pp. 26−31.

[Weinberg2014-7] Jump up to: ^a ^b Weinberg, P. (2014). "On the status and biology of the wild goat in Daghestan (Russia)". Journal of Mountain Ecology. 6 (6): 31−40.

[8] Khorozyan, I. G.; Weinberg, P. I.; Malkhasyan, A. G. (2009). "Conservation Strategy for Armenian Mouflon (Ovis [orientalis] gmelini Blyth) and Bezoar Goat (Capra aegagrus Erxleben) in Armenia". In Zazanashvili, N.; Mallon, D. (eds.). Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus (PDF). Tbilisi: CEPF, WWF. pp. 37−45.

[9] Talibov, T. H.; Weinberg, P. I.; Mammadov, I. B.; Mammadov, E. N.; Talibov, S. T. (2009). "Conservation Strategy of the Asiatic Mouflon (Ovis [orientalis] gmelini Blyth) and the Bezoar Goat (Capra aegagrus Erxleben) in Azerbaijan". In Zazanashvili, N.; Mallon, D. (eds.). Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus (PDF). Tbilisi: CEPF, WWF. pp. 46−52.

[10] Esfandabad, B.S.; Karami, M.; Hemami, M.R.; Riazi, B. & Sadough, M.B. (2010). "Habitat associations of wild goat in central Iran: implications for conservation" (PDF). European Journal of Wildlife Research. 56 (6): 883–894. doi:10.1007/s10344-010-0386-9. S2CID 23188666.

[11] Korshunov, V. M. (1994). "Ecology of the Bearded Goat (Capra aegagrus Erxleben 1777) in Turkmenistan". Biogeography and ecology of Turkmenistan. Monographiae Biologicae. 72. Dordrecht: Springer. pp. 231−246.

[Edge1990-12] Jump up to: ^a ^b Edge, W. D. & Olson-Edge, S. L. (1990). "Population Characteristics and Group Composition of Capra aegagrus in Kirthar National Park, Pakistan". Journal of Mammalogy. 71 (2): 156–160. doi:10.2307/1382162. JSTOR 1382162.

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