The name of a mountain goat means several species of artiodactyl animals, and the most famous of them are two: alpine and Siberian. The king of the largest mountain system in Europe, the Alps, would now be a species that had disappeared from the face of the earth if another royal person had not come to his aid. One hundred and fifty years ago, an alpine handsome man was on the verge of extinction due to the centuries-old rampant hunting of man. In fact, only a few dozen or a hundred individuals remained in the alpine meadows of the Gran Paradiso massif. King of Savoy Victor Emmanuel II in 1861 took these animals under his protection, and the population quickly grew. The successors of the king continued what was begun: in 1922 the Gran Paradiso National Park was founded, where they still observe the lifestyle and number of livestock of these graceful artiodactyls.
The Siberian mountain goat is spread over a wider territory: it is found in the mountains of Sayan, Altai, Tien Shan, Tarbagatai, Pamir, Saura. In the east, the herds of these stags reach the rocky mountains of Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Northwest China, and in the south they reach Northwest India. Kazakhs call this animal tau-teke, and the Kyrgyz - too-teke. The height at the withers of such an animal is a meter, its length is 160 cm, and they weigh from 150 to 200 kg. Females are noticeably smaller and more elegant than males. Also, females have smaller horns - 40 cm versus 150 cm. The color of both females and males is the same: dark fields on the sides and chest and light legs.
The mountain goat chooses a rocky highland as his place of residence, since its salvation is in good climbing qualities. Cougars and snow leopards are the natural enemies of animals , but even they prefer to ambush goats rather than chasing them along steep mountain ledges. To overcome almost sheer walls, goats developed a very interesting property of hooves: their pads are always soft and constantly growing. This property allows the legs to “stick” to the stones. After all, it’s more convenient for us to walk barefoot on a slippery stone than in rough shoes. In addition, goats are very intelligent and socially united animals. There are always several sentries in the herd who vigilantly observe the terrain while others graze.
At the same time, the mountain goat is extremely curious. There were times when slalom and ski jumping competitions in the mountains gathered as spectators not only people, but also ... wild goats who came to watch the spectacle with females and cubs. These animals graze in alpine meadows, and rest near sheer cliffs, where there is less risk of being taken by surprise by predators. In winter, they go down to the forest zone, or go to the southern slopes. In summer, the herds of artiodactyls are not very large, three dozen heads, and in winter animals gather in large communities of three to four hundred individuals.
The mountain goat acquires a harem of 5-20 females and rigidly protects it from the encroachments of other males. Tournaments are harsh. Usually the males live separately from the herds of females with young growth, gallantly giving them the best pastures, but during the rut, which falls in November-December, the males descend and engage in battle for the goats. The right to continue the clan is usually won by the strongest and most hardy male 5-6 years old. Females begin to bear offspring at the age of 2-3 years. Lambing begins in late April or early May. Most often, one kid is born, less often - twins. Within a few hours after the birth of the baby, the baby can stand up and follow her mother. She feeds him milk until late autumn, although a kid can chew grass at the age of one month.
These animals of the mountains often become victims of commercial and sport hunting. They have long been mined for meat and skin, and the horns of a mountain goat are now considered a valuable hunting trophy. In some places, hunting for these handsome climbers is prohibited. They live in the wild for about 16 years, and in the zoo they can reach up to 20. There are several subspecies of a mountain goat with various forms of horns - a goat (a horns like a corkscrew), a Siberian capricorn (horns look like a saber) and others.