Screw goat
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Screw goat ( Capra falconeri ) |
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| ( Wagner , 1839) |
The screw goat ( Capra falconeri ) is a wild goat from Central Asia. In English and sometimes in German it is referred to as Markhor , from Persian مارخوار Marchar , DMG marh w Ār , snake eaters', also Persian مارخور Mārchor , DMG Mārḫor .
features
Screw goats have the same stocky build as all goats, their limbs are short and strong, and their hooves are broad. The animals of the species reach head body lengths of 130 to 190 cm and tail lengths of 8 to 20 cm. The shoulder height is 65 to 115 cm, the weight in males 80 to 110, in females 32 to 50 kg. This makes them one of the largest representatives of goats.
The color of the fur is mainly a reddish gray, which is stronger in summer than in winter. Bucks also have a very large black goatee, a dark mane that extends from the neck to the chest and thickly hairy legs. In general, the coat is much shorter in summer than in winter. Particularly noticeable are the horns, which are close together, but then diverge in a V-shape. They are very broad and spiral. In the buck they reach a maximum length of 160 centimeters, in the goat they remain much shorter at 25 centimeters.
distribution and habitat
Screw goats are native to Central Asia , their distribution area includes eastern Afghanistan , northern India (union territory of Jammu and Kashmir ), Pakistan, as well as Turkmenistan and the southern parts of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan . Their range is fragmented.
They inhabit mountain regions up to 3600 meters above sea level as well as steppe and desert areas. However, they usually stay at most just above the tree line and migrate mostly to lower-lying areas in winter. They typically live in scrub forests consisting of holm oaks ( Quercus ilex ), Chilgoza pines ( Pinus gerardiana ), and Persian juniper ( Juniperus macropoda ). When there is snow, they feed on the evergreen leaves of the holm oaks. Often the younger and lighter animals climb into the trees.
The range of the screw goat partially overlaps with that of the related Siberian ibex . However, this prefers higher-lying areas.
Way of life
Screw goats are mainly active at dawn and dusk. Their diet consists of grass and leaves, when they eat they occasionally stand up on their back legs. Females and juveniles live in small herds of about nine animals, although large gatherings of up to a hundred goats are rarely seen. The bucks are solitary animals that only join the herds during the mating season. They are then extremely aggressive towards other members of their sex and try to gain control of a herd by fighting.
Mating occurs in autumn and winter; after a gestation period of 135 to 170 days, the female usually gives birth to one or two young between April and June. These are weaned at 5 to 6 months, but stay with the mother until the next mating season. They become sexually mature at 18 to 30 months.
Systematics and naming
The screw goat belongs within the hornbeam to the genus of goats ( Capra ), which also includes wild goats and ibexes . There are three subspecies:
- The Astor screw goat ( Capra falconeri falconeri ) in India, Northern Pakistan and Northern Afghanistan,
- the Kabul screw goat ( C. f. megaceros) in Central Afghanistan, Central Pakistan and South Pakistan,
- the Bukhara screw goat ( C. f. heptneri ) in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, this subspecies is acutely threatened with extinction.
- Sometimes a fourth subspecies, C. f. called jerdoni , this is most likely identical with megaceros .
The name "Markhor" comes from Persian and means "snake eater". However, like all goats, screw goats are herbivores, and the etymology of this name is largely a mystery. Interpretations suggest him as a "snake killer" or allude to the spiral horns. The specific epithet falconeri honors the Scottish paleontologist and botanist Hugh Falconer .
Screw goats and people
The screw goat is the national animal of Pakistan . The IUCN classifies the Markhor since 2014 no longer as endangered ( endangered ), but only at risk as potential ( near threatened ) one after the total number of copies has increased again to over 5,700 throughout the range. There are no protected areas for these wild goats in Afghanistan. Traditionally, they are hunted for their meat. Trophy hunters also chase after the animals. The horns also play a role in traditional Chinese medicine . Habitat destruction and competition with grazing animals are also a threat. The total population is estimated at 9,700 individuals, of which around 5800 are fully grown animals. A large part of them, around 5000 animals, belong to the subspecies C. f. falconeri , the stock of C. f. heptneri is given as more than 1680 individuals, the C. f. megaceros with a little more than 3000. In Pakistan the populations are very fragmented. In the Chitral Gol National Park , where protective measures took effect, the number is probably around 1360 animals of the subspecies C. f. falconeri . Further stocks occur in the Central Karakoram National Park . There are probably 300 to 375 animals living in India, the habitat there has shrunk from 300 km² in the 1940s to 120 km² at the beginning of the 2000s.
In 1997 a European conservation breeding program for the screw goat was started. The animals are kept in Germany in the zoos of Augsburg, Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart. A herd of Markhores also lives in the International Wildlife Conservation Park in the Bronx , New York .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Capra falconeri in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.2. Posted by: R. Valdez, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ↑ a b Turkmen Markhor on the website of the Association of Zoological Gardens
- ↑ Turkmen Markhore - screw goat pulls in New York Zoo ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Video from Süddeutsche Zeitung Online, accessed on July 30, 2014
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
- DE Wilson, DM Reeder: Mammal Species of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005 ISBN 0-8018-8221-4
- P. Meile, M. Giacometti & P. Ratti: The Ibex - Biology and Hunting. Salm Verlag, Wohlen-Bern 2003 ISBN 3-7262-1412-7
Web links
- Photos, distribution map and further information
- Capra falconeri inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.2. Posted by: R. Valdez, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2014.