Where does the horned goat live and how has it adapted? Horned goat: description and lifestyle

One thing that definitely doesn’t have to worry about the presence of a corkscrew is the horned goat (lat. Capra falconeri), because he wears it on his own head! True, he is unlikely to be able to find a plug of this size - the horns of males sometimes exceed 1.5 m in length, but the very thought of such a necessary device should warm his soul.

Jokes aside, the horns of this representative of the mountain goat family are truly beautiful. They are spirally twisted around two straight axes, rise up from the forehead and diverge in different directions, slightly tilting back. Moreover, the angle of divergence is strictly individual for all individuals.

In old males, the spiral has time to make two or three turns. The trunk of their horns is flat, flattened laterally, with well-defined front and rear ribs. The boundaries of the annual segments are clearly visible on its surface. Females also have curled horns, but their length barely exceeds 20-30 cm.

Another distinctive feature of males is a dewlap of dark, long hair located under the chin and on the chest, which makes the neck appear very thick. The coat color of both sexes ranges from reddish-gray to off-white. At the same time, the fur itself is very fluffy and warm.

The height at the withers of a horned goat reaches 85-100 cm with a body length of one and a half to 1.7 m. Its weight rarely exceeds 90 kg. The head is proportional, heavy and slightly hook-nosed. The hooves are sharp and sensitive. The tail is short, but clearly visible against the background of the fur.

You can meet marking goats in the mountains of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Interestingly, in Pakistan this animal is considered a national symbol and is called markhor or markhor, which means “snake eater”.

Of course, mountain goats do not eat snakes. They prefer a variety of vegetation, which can be found on the slopes of deep gorges and on numerous mountain meadows. But animals try to stay away from dense thickets of trees, because there you might inadvertently encounter some hungry predator.

Adult males live alone, and females with kids form small herds of 6-8 heads. In winter and especially during the rut (November-December), these herds unite, in addition, males join them, so one such group can number 20-30 individuals.

Little goats are born in April-May. It is curious that at birth their body is no larger than that of a rabbit, but their legs are already immediately slender and quite strong. True, when the kid rises from the ground for the first time, he staggers and stumbles greatly. It looks like the baby is about to fall. However, he stubbornly continues to stomp his feet and already on the second day of his life he keeps up with his mother everywhere.

A week later, he is frolicking with all his might with other kids, jumping no worse than his adult relatives. At the age of two, markhors become sexually mature and their mothers drive them away from the herd. True, young ones will be able to mate no earlier than 5-6 years, since this right still needs to be won from their brothers in fierce battles. And fights during the rut among markhors are quite serious. They often occur on the very edge of the abyss and sometimes even lead to the death of one of the rivals. Horned goats are listed in the International Red Book. Hunting them is prohibited.

When you go traveling to the mountains, you can meet amazing animals that arouse admiration with their appearance, dexterity and ability to live in such difficult conditions. One of these animals is the markhor, a mountain goat of the bovid family. Despite the fact that hunting for markhor has long been prohibited, the number of this animal species is still falling quite quickly.

Where does this animal live?

The horned goat is common in the mountains on the Panj River, in the western Himalayas, Little Tibet, in Kashmir, East Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, as well as in Tajikistan and the extreme east of Turkmenistan.

Typically, goats of this species prefer the slopes of deep gorges and areas with bushes and grass. In winter, these animals can descend to the lower belt of the mountains, however, they try to avoid places with deep snow cover.

Appearance

The markhor's body is reddish-sand or red with a gray tint. The front surface of the legs is decorated with black stripes, the dewlap is light, even rather whitish in color.

The height of the markhor reaches 100 cm, and the length of its body can vary between 140 - 170 cm. Large markhor gains weight up to 120 kg, females weigh much less - 40 - 60 kg. Males also boast a large beard, which is full of fullness, especially in winter.

Markhors are excellent climbers.

The most attractive part of the markhor's body is its spiral-shaped horns. Sometimes their length can reach 90 cm, and the diameter at the base up to 24 cm. The right horn is twisted to the right, and the left to the left. The spiral of the horns can reach 2–3 turns, but their axis always remains straight.

Animals of this species have excellent sense of smell, hearing and vision. Such natural characteristics help them avoid danger by noticing the predators hunting them in time.

Lifestyle

Grazing time in summer occurs in the early morning and evening. Basically, markhors are divided into groups, which include several individuals. If in spring and summer males stay in groups of several individuals or alone, and females form groups of 2 - 3 individuals with babies and one-year-old kids, then in autumn and winter males and females unite in one group. During the cold season, these animals lead an active lifestyle throughout the daylight hours.

If nothing bothers the Markhors, then they behave more than phlegmatically. When moving to pasture, they move at a calm pace. They cannot run quickly and for a long time on surfaces with soft ground, as they lack endurance. But without coercion they overcome narrow cornices and climb the steepest rocks, like other representatives of this species. After the young bucks reach two years of age, they join the adult group of males.

Markhor food

Animals of this species live in the mountains, so their main source of food is mountain vegetation in the form of grass, young shoots of trees and leaves of shrubs.

Reproduction

From mid-November to the end of January, the rutting season of horned goats begins. To detect a female ready for breeding, markhors go around the herd and sniff each of the individuals. During this period, aggressive rivalry arises between males. He follows the female who has shown affection to the male for several days, while carefully watching to ensure that other suitors do not approach her.

The pregnancy of a female markhor lasts 5 months and after the prescribed period one or two kids are born. During the first days, the babies remain in the shelter, while the mother grazes nearby. From the age of one week, little goats are already trying to taste blades of grass and young leaves of bushes. The mother continues to feed her offspring until autumn. Puberty in kids is reached by the second year of life, and they go to a group with adult males.

The markhor goat is a cloven-hoofed animal from the genus of mountain goats and belongs to the bovid family. A very rare, endangered species. Hunting for markhor is prohibited everywhere, but the number of these animals in nature is still rapidly falling.

Description

The name of this species comes from the shape of the horns, which twist like a screw or a corkscrew. Males have a dewlap of elongated dark hair on their neck and chest. The coat color is usually reddish-gray, and in older males it is off-white. The body is up to 1.7 m long, the height of the animal at the withers is 90 cm, the weight reaches 90 kg, rarely more than 115 kg. Females are usually smaller than males.

The markhor's horns are laterally flattened, heteronymous-spiral, that is, the left horn is twisted into a right-handed spiral, and the right horn into a left-handed one. The horns are pointed, keeled behind and in front, with the dorsal keel being much sharper. Females also have horns, but they are small. They have a spiral of only 1-1.5 turns at the very tip. The horns of the horned goat can reach
1.5 m or more, in females the horns are 20-30 cm in length.

Habitat

The markhor goat is common in Kashmir, the Western Himalayas, Afghanistan and Little Tibet, as well as in the mountains on the Pyanj River, the Babatag and Kuhi-Tangtob ridges in Tajikistan. Markhor forms several subspecies, which differ in the shape of their horns. This horned goat lives on the steep slopes of gorges, rocks and cliffs at an altitude of 500 to 3000 meters, eating grass and leaves. It is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic goats. The horned markhor is the symbol of Pakistan.

Lifestyle and behavior

Markhors live mainly in groups of several individuals. In winter and autumn, during the rutting period, the groups are mixed, consisting of 10-20 animals. By spring, adult males leave the general herd and stay alone, sometimes gathering in small groups. In summer, females form their own groups, which usually consist of 2-3 adult animals, newborn babies and cubs of the previous year. In such groups, most often everyone is relatives. Teenagers spend all their free time playing games, which they play with growing children. By the second year of life, young males begin to separate from their mothers and join groups of males. In winter, markhors are active during daylight hours, and in summer they graze at night, early morning and evening.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

In summer, horned goats feed mainly on grasses. They especially prefer cereals, like most ungulates, but they also willingly eat leaves and shoots of shrubs. In winter, their diet, in addition to dry grass, includes thin branches of willow, maple, rowan, aspen and other trees and shrubs. These goats regularly visit watering holes, especially after all the grassy vegetation has dried out. There predators await them, the victims of which are the markhors.

During grazing, animals periodically look around, constantly raising their heads. The markhor, having noticed the danger, makes a loud, abrupt sound, stomping its front leg. All other members of the herd immediately freeze and become wary. While the danger (man or wolf) is distant, but visible to the naked eye, the animals continue to graze, carefully watching it. However, as soon as they lose sight of the potential danger in a gorge or over a ridge, the animals quickly leave. This is how they sometimes travel long distances, driven by fear.

Reproduction and development

The rut of the horned goat occurs in mid-November and ends closer to January. At this time, several adult males come to a group of females and wander around, sniffing closely at each of them. They behave aggressively towards each other, much more than before. The dominant male, having discovered a receptive female, follows her for several days in a row, driving away all other contenders. Mating occurs several times during the day. After 5 months, the female gives birth to 1-2 kids.

The kids remain in the shelter for the first few days, while the mother grazes nearby. A little later, the kids begin to follow her everywhere. Already at the age of one week, goat kids taste young leaves and blades of grass, although they continue to feed on milk until autumn. Kids grow very quickly, reaching sexual maturity by the second year of life. In nature, two-year-old females do not yet have cubs, but in zoos such cases are not uncommon. Young males, leaving their parental groups, spend several more years in the company of other bachelors. Only by the age of three will they be allowed to mate with stronger males.

Lifespan

In nature, horned goats live less than 10 years and extremely rarely die of old age. They become victims of wolves and often die from a human bullet. Also, the population is noticeably reduced by hunger during harsh winters and avalanches. In captivity, a mark-horned goat reached a record life expectancy and lived in one of the US zoos for almost 20 years.

Horned goat

The special shape of the corkscrew horns makes markhors especially majestic and recognizable among other mountain ungulates.

Taxonomy

Russian name: horned goat, markhor

Latin name– Capra falconeri heptneri

English name– Markhor

Squad – artiodactyla (Artiodactyla)

Family – bovids (Bovidae)

Subfamily – goats and rams (Caprinae)

Genus – mountain goats themselves (Capra)

There are up to 6 subspecies, slightly differing in size, color and degree of curl of the horns. The zoo contains a subspecies called Heptner's markhor, or Tajik markhor.

Status of the species in nature

The species is included in the IUCN Red List as critically endangered and in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade - CITES I, IUCN (EN).

Species and man

The origin of the word markhor is interesting. Translated from Persian, mar means snake, kbor means devouring. Markhor is a wild goat that eats snakes. More than 100 years ago, Hutton wrote that local residents believed that this goat not only eats snakes, but also deliberately seeks them out. In some places it is still believed that if a person is bitten by a snake, the effect of the poison can be neutralized by eating markhor meat. In addition, the “bezoar stone”, which is sometimes found in the stomach of an animal, is considered a means of removing poison from the wound. However, there is another interpretation of the origin of the name of this animal - from the Afghan (Pashto language) words mar (snake) and akbur (horn), which is associated with the spiral shape of the horns.

Species name falconeri named after the Scottish naturalist Hugh Falconer.

From time immemorial, people have shown primarily a gastronomic interest in ungulates, and markhors are no exception. Hunting a large mountain goat, moving masterfully among a pile of rocks, has always required great skill and special endurance from the hunter, and therefore was the lot of a few. After the advent of rifled firearms, it became much easier to hunt this animal, there were more hunters, which led to a sharp decrease in the number of animals. Currently, the meat of wild ungulates has ceased to be vital, and horned goats are now hunted mainly for their luxurious horns - a prestigious hunting trophy. At the same time, the largest healthy males - those with the largest horns - and the best producers are eliminated from the population. The condition of the entire species was also aggravated by the development of sheep farming, since wild goats were forced out of the best pastures. Now markhors are preserved only in nature reserves and hard-to-reach mountainous areas.

There is evidence that horned goats took part in the formation of some breeds of domestic goats along with the bearded or bezoar goat.

Distribution and habitats

Markhor is distributed in the mountains of northwestern India, East Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Kugitang Mountains in the far east of Turkmenistan, in Uzbekistan in the upper reaches of the Amu Darya, in the territory between the Pyanj and Vakhshch rivers in southwestern Tajikistan.

Most often, these animals are found on the slopes of deep gorges with numerous rocks, with areas covered with herbaceous vegetation and rare shrubs, at an altitude of no more than 2500 m above sea level; Markhors do not climb as high into the mountains as the Siberian and Alpine ibex. In winter, they often descend to the lower mountain belt, sometimes to the desert-steppe belt at an altitude of 800-900 m above sea level, but avoid places with deep snow cover.

Appearance and morphology

The horned goat is significantly different from other wild goats. Its horns are spirally twisted: the left horn - to the right, the right - to the left, the number of turns reaches two or three. The bases of the horns are close together, then they diverge at different angles in different subspecies, but the axis of the horn remains straight. The horns of the Tajik subspecies of markhor are relatively straight and have the shape of a relief tight spiral. Males have a large beard; long hair forms a dewlap on the neck and chest, which is especially lush in winter. The body color of the animals is reddish-sandy or grayish-red. The pendant is light, whitish. There are black stripes on the front of the legs.

Markhors are large in size: body length 140-170 cm, height up to 100 cm. Males are much larger than females: their weight is 80-120 kg, females - 40-60 kg. In adult males, the length of the horn in a spiral can reach 70-90 cm, and in diameter at the base - 20-24 cm.

Excellent vision, hearing and smell help these animals notice predators in time and avoid danger.

It got its name from its corkscrew horns.

Lifestyle and social behavior

Markhors live mainly in groups of several individuals. In winter and autumn during the rut, the groups are mixed, consisting of 10-20 animals. In spring and summer, adult males often stay alone or in small groups. At this time of year, females form their own groups, consisting of 2-3 adult animals, babies and yearlings. Most often in such a group everyone is relatives. Teenagers spend time in games that involve growing kids. Young males leave their mothers and join male groups in the autumn of their second year.

In winter, markhors are active all daylight hours. In summer they graze at night, early in the morning and in the evening.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

In summer, marking goats feed mainly on herbaceous vegetation, preferring cereals, like most ungulates, but they also readily eat leaves and shoots of bushes. In winter, their diet, in addition to dried grass, is dominated by thin branches of willow, rowan, maple, aspen and other trees and shrubs. Markhors regularly visit watering holes, especially when the grassy vegetation dries out.

During grazing, animals periodically look around, raising their heads. Having noticed the danger, the markhor makes a jerky sound, stamping its foot, and the rest of the herd instantly becomes alert. While the danger (wolf or man) is distant but noticeable, the animals continue to graze, keeping an eye on it.

However, having lost sight of the potential danger in a gorge or behind a ridge, the goats quickly leave.

Reproduction and development

The markhor rut begins in mid-November and ends by January. At this time, adult males come to female groups and wander around, sniffing each female. They become much more aggressive towards each other. Having discovered a receptive female, the dominant male follows her for several days, driving away other contenders. After 5 months, she gives birth to 1-2 kids.

For the first few days, the kids remain in the shelter while the mother grazes nearby; later they begin to follow her, already from the age of a week tasting individual young leaves and blades of grass. Milk feeding continues until autumn, goat kids grow quickly, reaching maturity by the second year of life. In nature, two-year-old females do not yet have cubs, but in zoos such cases are not uncommon. Young one-year-old males, having left their parental groups, will spend several more years in the company of other bachelors before being allowed to breed with stronger animals.

Lifespan

In nature, horned goats rarely live longer than 10 years and even less often die of old age. They die in the teeth of wolves, and from a human bullet, and from exhaustion in a hungry winter, and during avalanches.

In captivity, the record holder for life expectancy is the horned goat, which lived in one of the US zoos for 19 years and 1 month.

Markhors at the Moscow Zoo

Horned goats can be seen in the New Territory of the Zoo on Turya Gorka. They have lived there since 1990 and were brought from various zoos in our country and from abroad. By now there are about 20 of them, and the herd includes animals of the 4th generation. Goats live in one large herd, in which complex relationships have been established between animals. Males dominate over females, older ones dominate over younger ones, members of one clan dominate over members of another. The main rule is that the highest ranking animals are the oldest animals, both males and females. To ensure that all members of the group, even the lowest-ranking ones, have access to food and can take shelter from bad weather, there are many feeders installed in the enclosure and niches for resting.

Young males over 1.5 years old spend most of their time in the upper part of the enclosure, where they rest or test their strength in ritual tournaments. They treat each other quite tolerantly, since the hierarchy is established in childhood or youth. Adult males have favorite places in the middle of the slope, where they lie like a majestic decoration of the rocks. Females with young animals stay lower, and are located in clear groups - a female and her cubs of one to two years. Horned goats do not use the territory of the enclosure separately, but, as a rule, high-ranking animals stay closer to the center of the group, while low-ranking, old and sick animals stay closer to the periphery, minimizing contacts with other members of the group.

Life in a herd obeys its own laws, time flows: at the beginning of summer, babies are born, they grow, learn the world and rules of behavior, the rut begins, then wintering…. And in any season, when you come to the zoo, you can see these mountain beauties, majestically perched on the rocks. And with patience, you can understand the complex structure of their community.

Unfortunately, many animals have very overgrown hooves, which prevents them from being as dexterous and agile as they should be by nature. The hooves grow from excess carbohydrates in the food, because many visitors bring bread to the zoo and feed it to our animals. Once again we ask - do not feed the animals in the zoo, their diets are balanced, they get everything they need to be healthy.

Description

The name of this species comes from the shape of the horns, twisting like a corkscrew or screw. Males have a dewlap of elongated dark hair on their neck and chest. The coat color is usually reddish-gray; in older males it is off-white. Body length up to 1.7 m, height at the withers 90 cm, weighs up to 90 kg, rarely more.

In males, the horns reach 1.5 m or more, while females have small horns 20-30 cm in length.

Area

Gallery

Capra falconeri Markhor Parc Bouillon 31082014 1.jpg

Turkomen Markhor2.jpg

Markhor III.jpg

Markhor IIII.jpg

Markhor at the Moscow Zoo

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Notes

Sources

Tsalkin V. I. Horned goat in the USSR, “Uch. zap. Moscow State University", 1945, c. 83;
Mammals of the Soviet Union, ed. V. G. Heptner and N. P. Naumov, vol. 1, M., 1961.

An excerpt characterizing the Horned Goat

“Vereshchagin was tried and sentenced to death,” thought Rostopchin (although Vereshchagin was only sentenced to hard labor by the Senate). - He was a traitor and a traitor; I could not leave him unpunished, and then je faisais d "une pierre deux coups [made two blows with one stone]; to calm down, I gave the victim to the people and executed the villain."
Arriving at his country house and busy with household orders, the count completely calmed down.
Half an hour later the count was riding on fast horses across Sokolnichye Field, no longer remembering what had happened, and thinking and thinking only about what would happen. He was now driving to the Yauzsky Bridge, where, he was told, Kutuzov was. Count Rastopchin was preparing in his imagination those angry and caustic reproaches that he would express to Kutuzov for his deception. He will make this old court fox feel that responsibility for all the misfortunes that will occur from leaving the capital, from the destruction of Russia (as Rostopchin thought), will fall on his old head alone, which has gone crazy. Thinking ahead about what he would tell him, Rastopchin angrily turned around in the carriage and angrily looked around.
Sokolniki field was deserted. Only at the end of it, near the almshouse and the yellow house, could be seen a group of people in white clothes and several lonely people of the same kind who were walking across the field, shouting something and waving their arms.
One of them ran across Count Rastopchin’s carriage. And Count Rastopchin himself, and his coachman, and the dragoons, all looked with a vague feeling of horror and curiosity at these released madmen, and especially at the one who was running up to them.
Staggering on his long thin legs, in a flowing robe, this madman ran quickly, not taking his eyes off Rostopchin, shouting something to him in a hoarse voice and making signs for him to stop. Overgrown with uneven tufts of beard, the gloomy and solemn face of the madman was thin and yellow. His black agate pupils ran low and anxiously over the saffron yellow whites.
- Stop! Stop! I speak! - he screamed shrilly and again, breathlessly, shouted something with impressive intonations and gestures.
He caught up with the carriage and ran alongside it.
- They killed me three times, three times I rose from the dead. They stoned me, crucified me... I will rise... I will rise... I will rise. They tore my body apart. The kingdom of God will be destroyed... I will destroy it three times and build it up three times,” he shouted, raising his voice more and more. Count Rastopchin suddenly turned pale, just as he had turned pale when the crowd rushed at Vereshchagin. He turned away.
- Let's go... let's go quickly! - he shouted at the coachman in a trembling voice.
The carriage rushed at all the horses' feet; but for a long time behind him, Count Rastopchin heard a distant, insane, desperate cry, and before his eyes he saw one surprised, frightened, bloody face of a traitor in a fur sheepskin coat.
No matter how fresh this memory was, Rostopchin now felt that it had cut deep into his heart, to the point of bleeding. He now clearly felt that the bloody trail of this memory would never heal, but that, on the contrary, the further, the more evil, the more painful this terrible memory would live in his heart for the rest of his life. He heard, it seemed to him now, the sounds of his words:
“Cut him, you will answer me with your head!” - “Why did I say these words! Somehow I accidentally said... I could not have said them (he thought): then nothing would have happened.” He saw the frightened and then suddenly hardened face of the dragoon who struck and the look of silent, timid reproach that this boy in a fox sheepskin coat threw at him... “But I didn’t do it for myself. I should have done this. La plebe, le traitre... le bien publique”, [Mob, villain... public good.] - he thought.
The army was still crowded at the Yauzsky Bridge. It was hot. Kutuzov, frowning and despondent, was sitting on a bench near the bridge and playing with a whip in the sand, when a carriage galloped up to him noisily. A man in a general's uniform, wearing a hat with a plume, with darting eyes that were either angry or frightened, approached Kutuzov and began telling him something in French. It was Count Rastopchin. He told Kutuzov that he came here because Moscow and the capital no longer exist and there is only one army.
“It would have been different if your lordship had not told me that you would not surrender Moscow without fighting: all this would not have happened!” - he said.