The ancestors of domestic goats were the bold conquerors of impassable rocks - mountain goats. What are they remarkable for, where do they live and what do they eat? Information about them will be presented in this article.
General information
Capricorn is an animal that is a subspecies of the genus of wild mountain goats , with peculiar horns in the form of sabers. Externally, capricorns are very similar to tours.
First of all, ibexes (very rare capricorns) living on the mountain ranges (between Piedmont and Savoy) belong to this species.
The Nubian mountain goat, as well as the Siberian and Iberian goats, belong to the considered subspecies. In nature, the number of capricorns is quite large, and when they are crossed with other species, they give excellent offspring.
Ibex (Capricorn) will be described below, it is also a mountain goat and an Alpine goat (a family of artiodactyl animals) from the genus of mountain goats.
From the story of unique ibexes
In ancient times, ibex was the object of mystification, therefore, all its parts of the body, eaten and not only (from blood and hair to excrement, etc.), were used in alternative medicine as a means to cure all kinds of diseases. All this led to the fact that ibex goats in Europe are almost extinct. At the beginning of the 19th century, the number of these species in the entire Alpine region amounted to a little more than 100 individuals, and they survived only in Gran Paradiso (Italy).
J. Zumstein (forester) and A. Girtanner (natural scientist) in 1816 were able to convince the authorities to keep the remaining capricorns in this Italian region. And in 1854, even the king of Sardinia and Piedmont, Victor Emmanuel II, took these amazing phenomenal animals under his personal protection.
Thanks to all these programs (settlement of the Alpine mountains by ibexes), the mountain goat (see photo above) resides in many areas of its original range. The existing individuals (ibexes) came from those same 100 animals that lived in Italy.
V. Emmanuel II refused to Switzerland to sell ibexes, so the first such animals were smuggled into Switzerland only in 1906. The population of these goats is quite numerous today. And since 1977, their shooting has been allowed (albeit controlled).
In total, the number of ibexes in the Alps is approximately 30-40 thousand animals. Now they are common in the mountains of Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, Slovenia and Germany. The presence of such animals is quite beneficial for the prosperity of the resorts of the Alps, as they attract a large number of tourists from around the world.
Mountain goat: photo, description
Mountain goats are a genus of artiodactyls (family of bovids). All their species, on the one hand, have common features, and on the other, they are quite variable. In this regard, until now, scientists can not determine the exact number of breeds of these animals that exist in nature. Their number, according to different opinions, varies from 2-3 with a large number of subspecies and up to 9-10 species.
In addition, mountain goats are closely related to mountain sheep, which have many similarities with them. Their distant relatives are chamois and gorals, as well as snow goats.
The size of the mountain goats is medium: length - 120-180 cm; at the withers, the height reaches 100 centimeters; weight - up to 60 kilograms in small species (females) and up to 155 kilograms in goats of the largest species.
Outwardly, they appear to be slender and graceful animals, despite the fact that their legs are not very long and the body is firmly folded. Their main distinguishing feature is horns, which in males resemble sabers (length up to 1 meter), and in females - short daggers (length about 18 cm). Young animals are distinguished by horns, curved graceful arc. Old males have twisted horns in the form of a spiral.
Mountain goats on the horns (on the front surface) also have transverse thickenings; they are expressed in various species to different degrees.
Spread
Capricorn is an animal that lives in the Alps on the border between the forest and glaciers at high altitudes (3500 meters). In winter, it usually lives in low areas, but in summer it can also go down to alpine meadows in search of food. Capricorn sleeps high in the mountains.
In the rocky highlands, these artiodactyls are safe. They are able to swiftly rush along scree, easily jump over rocky crevices, climb high on steep and steep cliffs and cliffs. A fairly quick and constant movement is just the usual lifestyle of these unique animals.
Description of ibex
Ibeksy is the most unusual mountain species of goats. These are magnificent climbers. It is striking how they fearlessly and masterly climb the rocks. They live in the most inaccessible mountain regions of the Alps, as noted above, at high altitudes.
The length of ibex reaches an average of 150 cm, and their height at the withers is about 90 cm. The female weighs 40 kg, and the male weighs up to 100 kg. The male ibex, as well as other species, is a goat with large curved horns (length up to 1 meter). Females have short, slightly curved horns.
Both genders have barbs. The summer color of the male’s coat is dark brown; in females, it is reddish with a golden hue. In winter, all ibexes have gray wool.
Nutrition
Capricorn is an animal that feeds on a variety of plants. They give preference to alpine grasses - bluegrass and fescue, but if necessary they can eat branches of shrubs and trees, lichens and mosses.
In general, mountain goats are very unpretentious and can even eat poisonous plants and dry grass. These animals have a strong need for salt, and therefore, whenever possible, they go to salt licks, overcoming distances of up to 15-20 kilometers.
About value
Since ancient times, people hunted mountain goats, because the horns of a large male represented a very valuable trophy. Detecting this adroit and cautious animal is quite difficult. In addition to horns, people also had other practical benefits: skins were used to make clothes and shoes, and the meat of these animals was a very tasty and easily digestible product. Fat was used in cooking, and spools of wool undigested in the stomach (bezoar) were used for medicinal purposes.
Such beneficial qualities of animals led to their domestication. Thanks to them, in the world there are now a huge number of breeds of domestic goats (down, meat and dairy).
Now the mountain goat (Capricorn) is an animal that can be found in different zoos due to its simple tameness. Capricorns perfectly tolerate bondage and breed quite easily.
Conclusion
Although a goat with large horns in the view of many is a symbol of an unclean, often diabolical (compared to a meek sheep), in fact, these animals are very smart and even amenable to training (and rams - vice versa).
Mountain goats play such an important role in the life of the peoples of the Mediterranean and Asia. And this circumstance is reflected in the name of one of the constellations of the Zodiac - Capricorn.