With the exception of the Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra), many other subspecies of the chamois are rare and many populations are declining (4). Such declines are due to a combination of factors. The flesh of chamois is prized by some people, the skin is made into shammy leather for cleaning glass and polishing cars, and winter hair from the back is used to make 'gamsbart', the brush of Tyrolean hats (2). This has led, in some areas, to excessive hunting (2), and poaching remains a threat to many populations, particularly outside of protected areas (4). Habitat loss is impacting some subspecies, such as in Albania where suitable habitat is being lost to expanding human populations, as is competition with domestic livestock. Hybridisation with the Alpine chamois poses a threat to a number of the subspecies and sarcoptic mange (a skin disease) is also a problem in some regions (4). The two Critically Endangered subspecies, the Chartreuse chamois (R. r. cartusiana) and the Tatra chamois (R. r. tatrica) face many of the threats mentioned above, which are compounded by their small populations and limited distribution. The Chartreuse chamois is restricted to a 350 square kilometre area of the Chartreuse massif, at the western edge of French Alps, where an official census in 1986-87 estimated the population to consist of a minimum of 150 individuals. Only two populations of the Tatra chamois remain; one in the Tatra National Park, Poland and Slovakia, and another introduced population occurs in the Low Tatra National Park, Slovakia. Such small populations are vulnerable to natural disasters, disease, and a loss of genetic diversity (4).