In nature, each creation is beautiful in its own way and is a link in a huge single living system, where all creatures have their own living environment and corresponding lifestyle. The only one who does not fit into this “organism” is a person who, instead of living with nature in harmony, destroys it in every possible way.
The consequence of this attitude to the world is the creation of protected areas and the constant replenishment of the pages of the Red Book. The goat-horned goat - an unusually beautiful animal - fell into the category of endangered species.
Bovine family
This family includes deer-like mammals, which include not only elegant antelopes, but also such large individuals as yaks, bisons, buffalos, bulls and their somewhat smaller counterparts - sheep, goats and musk ox.
Regardless of size and habitat, all animals belonging to this family have a number of common features:
- Males always have horns, while females can be without them.
- They lack fangs and upper incisors.
- All of them are “equipped” with a three-chambered stomach and cecum.
These herd animals prefer vast steppes, with the exception of the goat, whose habitat is mountains.
From ancient times, almost all representatives of this species were hunted, and some of them were tamed and domesticated, for example, goats, sheep and bulls. This is evidenced by numerous cave paintings, conveying scenes of hunting and grazing animals.
In our time, the shooting of representatives of the family of canids is allowed only in reserves, and then in limited quantities, since many of them are listed in the Red Book. The horned goat Markhor, for example, is gradually reducing its population, and species such as saiga, tour and bison have completely disappeared in several countries.
The biggest problem, according to experts on the protection of rare animals, are poachers. It is their illegal activity that causes the number of representatives of the bovine family to constantly decrease.
Description of the Goat
Markhurs belong to the order of artiodactyls from the bovine family. The horned goat (the photo shows this) is named so because its horns have a spiral shape with almost symmetrical turns. Each of them “looks” in its own direction: right - to the right, and left - to the left.
In females, the horns are small, only 20-30 cm, but the turns are clearly pronounced. In males, they can reach 1.5 m with a body length of up to 2 m and a height at the withers of up to 90 cm. The weight of the male rarely exceeds 90 kg, in a goat it is even less.
The horned goat changes color and quality of its coat depending on the season. So, in winter it can be reddish-gray, gray or white. During this period, it is the warmest, with a thick and long undercoat. The "beard" of the animal to the cold also becomes thicker. In summer, on the contrary, the hairline of the goat's goats thins and acquires a red color.
These slender, agile and fast animals have excellent sense of smell, vision and hearing, which helps them to smell hunters and predators at a sufficiently large distance. The horned goat, the description of which is unlikely to convey all the grace and extraordinary majesty of this animal, chose a habitat unusual for representatives of this family.
Habitat
The middle mountain belt, covered with meadows, and ravines with steep cliffs are the natural habitat of marhur. These animals easily overcome small chasms and jump onto the most impregnable and steep cliffs.
They avoid dense thickets of trees, but can climb to alpine meadows, located on the border with glaciers and eternal snows. Their range is the mountains of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and India.
The horned goat easily tolerates both the summer heat and the icy winter with deep snow. These animals migrate as food needs or safety for young animals. So, they can rise above the forest zone in the mountains or graze on its border, which often happens in winter, when there is less food, and fall to the very bottom for the sake of herbs.
Lifestyle
Horned goats form small herds of 15 to 30 heads, consisting of females with young animals. Adult males graze separately most of the year and keep apart in their chosen territory. Young goats still can not fight for females with a more experienced and strong older generation, so they organize their bachelor group.
The nutrition of these animals is seasonal. For example, in the summer they rise to the meadows, where they eat grass and leaves of stunted trees and shrubs. In winter, the whole herd descends from the mountains, as far as snow permits, to the lower border of the forest, where the branches and leaves of an evergreen oak become the main food. For the sake of this delicacy, the Asian goat in Asia jumps from branch to branch of a tree, perfectly balancing at a height of 6-8 meters.
Breeding
The race for this species of bovids begins in November, when the animals ate on summer pastures and are full of strength and energy in order to fight for females. Fights between males rarely end in wounds, usually a weaker goat leaves the battlefield to try their luck with other females.
The winner remains to guard his harem and begins to mate with those goats that started estrus. These animals do not have a courtship period, since the winner simply takes his own, therefore, fertilization occurs quickly, after which the male leaves the females until the next rut.
Goats hatched for 6 months, and immediately before birth leave the herd. Babies are born in the spring, when meadows and trees turn green and there is a lot of food around. They quickly get to their feet and immediately begin to suck on their mother's udder.
Young growth develops in games and training. Older goats teach them to look for food, ride and run along the rocks, which accelerates their growth and gives strength. Females are ready to mate in 2 years, while males only by 4 years old become strong enough and experienced to get their harem.
Natural enemies
The average life expectancy of marchurians reaches 12-16 years, but, despite this, their number is gradually decreasing. These beautiful animals are protected, and the Red Book confirms this. The horned goat is nevertheless subjected to destruction by people who kill him for the sake of beautiful horns.
Some animals die for natural reasons, but more often become victims of an attack by predators - lynxes, wolves and snow leopards. Unstable young growth is particularly affected, therefore only 50% can often survive from offspring, which also affects the decrease in the population.
