The nature of the mountainous Caucasus is magnificent and diverse. This is a true paradise for researchers of fauna and flora. In the mountains there are still animals that can be called rare. One of these animals is the Caucasian mountain goats.
A bit of history
People began to hunt mountain tours in ancient times. It is believed that the first meeting of animals and humans took place in northern Iran. Over time, people have learned not only to hunt them and eat fat and meat for food, but also to process skins. Of these, liquid containers were made. But the most coveted trophy was and remains the horns.
To date, it is believed that the milk of these animals is very valuable and very nutritious. In many remote settlements of the Caucasus, there are still tales that mountain goats are representatives of evil spirits. In fact, these are very smart and not evil animals that are very trainable.
It is in honor of the Iberian goat (Capricorn) that the constellation Capricorn was named. This species inhabits the expanses of the Iberian Peninsula and is famous for its amazing bends of its horns.
Anatomy
The height at the withers of the male is from 90 to 110 centimeters, and in females up to one meter. The length of males can reach 1.65 meters, females are somewhat shorter and more graceful - up to 1.4 meters. The average weight of males is 100 kg, females - about 65 kg.
Caucasian mountain goats have a reddish hue. It is slightly darker on the back than on the stomach. In the winter cold, the wool darkens almost to a brown color, and by summer it brightens.
The animals have narrow, but very hard hooves, which allow them to be kept practically on sheer cliffs without problems. In addition, in the presence of danger, they inform their relatives about it with their hooves.
All individuals have special glands around the eyes and groin. These glands secrete a strong and not very pleasant smell.
Shedding in animals begins in March and ends completely in late July. By winter, wool begins to grow back in September.
Characteristics
The main distinguishing feature of the males of the Caucasian mountain goats is the presence of a short and wide beard, the length of which is not more than seven centimeters.
Male and female individuals have horns hollow inside. In females, horns do not grow more than 20 centimeters. And males can boast quite large horns that can grow up to one meter in length. The growth of horns lasts almost a lifetime.
Distribution and types of mountain goats
The Caucasian tour is actually an endemic species. The only territory where these animals live is the Caucasus Mountains. Severtsov’s tours and the West Caucasian species, which is on the verge of extinction, live on the western slope of the ridge. A distinctive feature of its representatives is very massive and curved horns directed in different directions and having transverse hollows. Severtsov goats are distinguished by the small size of their bodies and horns. However, their coat is much thicker and very tough.
The eastern slope is the habitat of the Dagestan species or the East Caucasus. You can meet them in Azerbaijan, the Republic of Dagestan and Georgia. This species is much smaller than relatives from the western part of the mountains, males reach no more than 90 kg in weight. The color of the animals is closer to the hazel shade.
Behavior features
A description of the Caucasian mountain goat can be made according to the opinions of rare eyewitnesses. This fearful animal lives where no one can disturb him. In the area where tours live, usually other animals do not live, especially artiodactyls. Goats have a very well-developed sense of smell, strangers, and especially people, they smell for several hundred meters.
They are strong and strong, perfectly survive the winter cold. Most individuals live in the upper parts of the mountains, where the forest turns into mountain meadows. In summer they can rise very high, where there are glaciers, up to four kilometers.
In summer, herds are reduced in number, their livestock does not exceed 20 individuals. In winter, animals come together and meet herds with hundreds of heads.
These are collective individuals. Some males are on guard and immediately notify the rest of the herd about the impending danger with a peculiar whistling sound. Hiding animals on the rocks, where they are almost impossible to get.
These are animals that lead a daily lifestyle. In summer, when the weather is very hot, they wait for the heat, hiding in the shade of plants.
The average life expectancy of goats is five to ten years. In captivity they can live up to 15 years.
Diet
Caucasian mountain goats eat almost all types of herbs. Eating lichens and mosses, tree and shrub plants. Tours can consume about 195 plant species: cereals, fir fruits, wrestler, shoots of maple, pine, mountain ash. If there is a period of famine, then they can even eat dried poisonous grass, which they get from under the snow. Sometimes, food has to be obtained from snowdrifts 30-35 centimeters high.
Animals do not disdain the young bark of trees, causing irreparable damage to vegetation in their habitats. Like elks, they need salt, so they can migrate in search of salt marshes for several kilometers.
Breeding
Tours are polygamous animals. Females and males join together only for the mating period. For the right to be the first between males, there is a struggle, although not a fierce one. But the winner gets the right to most females. During the mating season, young individuals usually stay away. In ordinary life, males also fight, but rather this behavior is ritual in nature, as individuals after a couple of collisions diverge.
The mating period is the beginning of winter. Females bear children for about five to six months. One female has no more than two cubs. The average weight of newborns is five to six kilograms. Pretty soon, the kids get on their feet and can follow their mother. This happens for about one month. In the first 10 days after the birth itself, the female and the baby are hiding.
Cubs reach full puberty by the third year of life. However, males become capable of mating much later.
