East Caucasian tur

Ostkaukasischer Capricorn with females in the background

The Ostkaukasische ibex ( Capra cylindricornis ) is also called Daghestan -Tur and inhabited the eastern parts of the Caucasus. Like the other ibex it belongs to the genus of goats. Traditionally Ostkaukasischer Capricorn and Capricorn Westkaukasischer be regarded as distinct species. Genetic studies seem to confirm this separation. The West Caucasian Capricorn seems therefore more closely with the bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus ) as to be related to the East Caucasian Capricorn. The superficial similarities within the Caucasian ibex could therefore be due to hybridization between the two species. This hypothesis is also supported by the fact that the mitochondrial genome of individual Westkaukasischer ibex corresponds to that of East Caucasian.

Appearance

The Ostkaukasische Capricorn looks very similar to the West Caucasian ibex ( Capra caucasica ). He has the same massive, stocky stature and is about the same size. It differs from the latter are mainly due to the even shorter beard and the larger horns that do not describe a circular arc, but spirally twisted and somewhat reminiscent of the Iberiensteinbocks. The horns of the bucks are up to one meter long and mainly because of their large diameter an impressive headdress. The females are much smaller and up to 30 cm long. The body length of the blocks is the East Caucasian Capricorn 130-150 cm, the shoulder height 79-98 cm and weight 55-100 kg. Females only reach a shoulder height of 65-70 cm and a total weight of 45-55 kg. The winter coat is usually dark cinnamon brown to hazel, while the summer dress is much brighter and redder. The underside is always slightly brighter.

Dissemination

The distribution area is the eastern Caucasus, here are the states of Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. As the holdings of the West Caucasian Capricorn took also of the East Caucasian Capricorn since the 19th century, mainly due to uncontrolled hunting sharply. However, in some areas, the populations recovered to some extent due to suitable protective measures recently again. The total stock of East Caucasian Capricorn might IUCN be little more than 10,000 adult animals, the species is classified as "low risk" ( near threatened ) classified.

Way of life

Caucasian ibex live on rocky cliffs and steep slopes of the Caucasus at altitudes of 800-4200 meters. There you can meet them both in meadows, boulder fields and in wooded terrain. Like all Capricorns they climb excellent. In summer, the animals hold usually at higher altitudes than in the winter. In the fall they rise to 1500-2000 meters into lower layers. In contrast to the winter, when these Capricorns like to stay on the sunny, open slopes, they look like during the summer in shady places. Their diet consists of grasses, leaves and herbs, with leaves food in the winter plays a larger role than in the summer when they feed mainly on grasses. The animals are temporarily large herds, as accumulations of 500 animals could already be observed. The more stable small groups that make up these large herds, but usually consist of only about a dozen animals. In the mating season, which is from November to January, the goats that live off the herds otherwise joined to the herds of females. Then they wear each other out fierce fighting around the fertile females. These give birth after a gestation period of 150-160 days, a single, rarely two fawns.

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