West Caucasian turs are native only to the western Caucasus Mountains in Georgia and south-western Russia ("Protected Areas Program" 2001).

Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native )

Body length for adult males is between 120 and 165 cm, with shoulder height between 78 and 109 cm. Horns of West Caucasian tur average 75 cm and occur in both males and females. They are scimitar-shaped, ridged, and appear as rounded triangles in cross-sections. Their pelage is "rusty gray to rusty chestnut, becoming lighter in the flanks" (Nowak 1991). The legs are dark brown. Males have a small beard under the chin. Tail length ranges from 10 to 14 cm (Nowak 1991).

Range mass: 65 to 100 kg.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: ornamentation

• Terrestrial

West Caucasian turs have one of the smallent habitats of all ungulates. They are native only to about 4,500 square kilometers in the western Caucasus Mountains. They live in elevations ranging from 800 to 4,200 meters. Forests are found leading up to 2,000 meters. Above this, there are alpine meadows and rocky talus slopes. Elevations above 2,900 meters are permanantly snow-covered (Huffman 2000; "Protected Areas Program" 2001).

Terrestrial Biomes: taiga ; mountains

West Caucasian turs are herbivorous. In summer their diet consists of a wide variety of plants and grasses. They tend to feed in the morning, rest in the heat of early afternoon, then feed again in late afternoon and evening. In winter their diet contains the leaves of trees and shrubs and they graze in open pastures throughout the day. Turs have been known to travel as much as 20 km a day if their resting and feeding sites are separated (Nowak 1991).

Average lifespan

Status: captivity: 19.3 years.

The mating season for West Caucasian turs lasts from late November to early January. Males fight aggressively during this season over females. Gestation lasts for 150 to 160 days. There is usually only one young born, rarely two, which average 3.5 to 4.2 kg at birth. Although young kids starts eating grass at about one month old, they are not weaned until three months old. Sexual maturity is reached at about two years old in females and five years old for males. Life expectancy is 12 to 13 years (Grzimek 1990; Nowak 1991).

Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.

Average number of offspring: 1.08.

Range gestation period: 5 to 5.33 months.

Average birth mass: 3850 g.

Average number of offspring: 1.

Parental Investment: altricial

Unregulated hunting in the early 1900's seriously threatened populations of West Caucasian turs. The creation of a nature preserve where they occur has enabled their numbers to increase slightly in recent years. The current population is estimated at under 10,000 (Nowak 1991).

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: endangered

None known.

West Caucasian turs are popular trophies for hunters. Safaris make large amounts of money allowing hunters to kill these animals ("Safari and Expeditions" 2001).

Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material