Eastern tur inhabit elevations between 1,000 and 4,000 m asl. Although the mountains in their range can reach 5,000 m asl, tur seldom rise above 3,500 m asl. They live in forests found up to 2,600 meters, and in subalpine and alpine meadows and rocky talus slopes at higher elevations. Animals avoid thick forests on gentle slopes, but stay readily in open forests growing on steep precipitous slopes. In winters, proportion of animals dwelling below timberline increases (Veinberg, 1984). On average, 34% of eastern tur lived in the forest throughout the year in Georgia (Ekvtimishvili, 1952). Some forest-dwelling populations in Azerbaijan are completely isolated from subalpine and alpine zones (Vereshchagin, 1938; P. Weinberg pers. comm.) In summer, adult males typically inhabit higher altitudes than females and young (Veinberg, 1984). During the region's harsh winters, tur concentrate on sunny slopes; during the summer, animals expand their distribution to slopes of different exposures (Veinberg, 1984; Zalikhanov, 1967; Magomedov, Akhmedov, Yarovenko, 2001). Seasonal migrations rarely exceed 5 km (Veinberg, 1984; Zalikhanov, 1967).

Animals form mixed, adult male-female groups in November, just prior to rut. These disband by mid-January or the beginning of February at the latest, and adult males and females live separately until the next rutting season (Veinberg, 1984). Females give birth predominantly to just one kid (Veinberg, 1984). Proportion of kids may exceed 20% in Azerbaijan (Kuliev, 1981) and Daghestan (Magomedov, Akhmedov, Yarovenko, 2001), but reach only 16,5% in North Ossetia, while yearlings make above 7% there (Veinberg, 1984). Sex ratio favours males in protected populations (Weinberg, 2002). Yearly changes of overall group size depends on the reproductive cycle. Rugged and precipitous terrain reduces group size (Veinberg, 1984; Weinberg, 2002). Mean group size also correlates with population density (Magomedov, Akhmedov, Yarovenko, 2001). Overall mean group size is below 10 in North Ossetia (Veinberg, 1984), but reached ca. 78 in Azerbaijan (Kuliev, 1981). Average population density varies from 0.15 to 17 animals/km² (Weinberg, 2002). Eastern tur consume 256 plant species in Daghestan (Abdurakhamanov, 1977). Eastern tur coexist with chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) on the northern slope in the Central Caucasus and on the southern slope in the Eastern Caucasus (mainly Azerbaijan), but the latter is much less numerous; in Daghestan and Chechnya, it is sympatric with the wild goat (Capra aegagrus) which dominates in the forest but seldom rises above timberline (Weinberg, 2002).

Red List Category

Red List Criteria

Year Assessed

Assessor/s

Reviewer/s

Justification

History

• 1996
  Vulnerable
• 1994
  Rare
  (Groombridge 1994)

Following a period of increase between the 1940s and 1960s numbers have since declined. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the total number was estimated to be between 25,000 to 30,000 animals (Kuliyev, 1981; Ravkin, 1975), but by the late 1980s had declined by >30% to between 18,000 and 20,000 head, of which ca. 2,000 occurred in Georgia (Weinberg et al., 1997). Magomedov, Akhmedov and Yarovenko (2001) suggest that there are up to 20,000 tur in Daghestan alone, but this may be optimistic. The latest data suggest that there are no less than 4,000 animals in three Georgian Nature Reserves alone: Kazbegi, Tusheti and Lagodekhi (NACRES, 2006), probably with few tur remaining outside. An estimate of 3,000 tur reported in Kazbegi Nature Reserve might be twice too much (P. Weinberg pers. comm.). In Russia, besides Daghestan, there are about 800 tur in North-Ossetian Nature Reserve (Mallon, Weinberg and Kopaliani, 2007), and about 7,000 animals in Kabardin-Balkaria (Akkiyev and Pkhitikov, 2007) (though the taxonomic status of this latter population remains unclear).

Decreasing

Livestock grazing and poaching are the major threats to the eastern tur, combined with the impacts of severe winters. Poaching is probably the most significant cause of the recently observed serious declines. Livestock grazing results in competition for resources, especially with domestic sheep and goats. The species is also impacted by habitat loss and degradation (Weinberg et al., 1997).

It is included in Category III in the Georgian Red Data Book (1982). Hunting, including hard currency foreign trophy hunting, is forbidden in Georgia, but is permitted under license in Azerbaijan and Russia. This species of tur is found in several Nature Reserves: 5,200 in Kabardin-Balkarian (Russia), 800 in North-Ossetian (Russia), 700 in Lagodekhi (Georgia), and 2,000 in Zakatala (Azerbaijan). Other protected areas with this species include Tushetian and Kazbegi Nature Reserve (Georgia), and Ilisu Nature Reserve with Kakh sanctuary and Ismailly Nature Reserve together with a sanctuary of the same name, and the newly founded Shakhdagh National Park (Azerbaijan). Of these, tur receive effective protection in Kabardin-Balkarian, North-Ossetian, Lagodekhi and Zakatala Nature Reserves. Conservation measures proposed include: 1) create new reserves, particularly in Daghestan on the border with Georgia and Azerbaijan neighboring with Lagodekhi and Zakatala Nature Reserve respectively; 2) strictly enforce protection measures outside the four-month hunting season; if controls are successful and the population responds, then 3) consider the possibility of increasing the annual hunting quota.