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 Wild Goat, Capra aegagrus aegagrus
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| Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777 |
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Capra aegagrus aegagrus |
The wild goat (Capra aegagrus) is a widespread species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East.
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Social structure
In the wild, goats live in flocks of up to 500 individuals; males are solitary. Male goats go through a period called a rut, where they are ready to mate. During the rut old males drive younger males from the maternal herds. The gestation period averages 170 days. Does (females) usually give birth to one kid. Kids can follow the mother goat almost immediately after birth. Kids are weaned after 6 months. Female goats reach sexual maturity at 1.5-2.5 years, males at 3.5-4 years. The lifespan of a goat can be from 12 to 22 years.
Environmental problems caused by goats
Though wild goats are native to some areas introduction to new areas can be extremely destructive. On the Galapagos wild goats (descendents of the goats left by explorers) ate the native plants. This threw the ecosystem off, in order to correct this they were hunted to extinction on the islands. Though this may seem like an extreme measure, it was necessary to prevent native species' extinction.
Subspecies
- Capra aegagrus aegagrus (Bezoar Ibex)
- Capra aegagrus blythi (Sindh Ibex)
- Capra aegagrus chialtanensis (Chiltan Ibex)
- Capra aegagrus cretica (Kri-kri)
- Capra aegagrus hircus (Domestic Goat)
- Capra aegagrus turcmenica (Turkmen Wild Goat)
- Capra aegagrus pictus
Distribution
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Cyprus
- Georgia
- Greece
- India
- Israel
- Iran
- Iraq
- Italy
- Lebanon
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Kashmir
- Russia
- Slovakia
- Syria
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
References
- Caprinae Specialist Group (1996). Capra aegagrus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Vulnerable (VU A2cde v2.3)
External links
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 5 December 2008, at 00:17.
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