The Alpine ibex, (Capra ibex), is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. In its habitat region, the species is known as bouquetin (French), Steinbock (German), stambecco (Italian) and kozorog (Slovenian).

The Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica) and the Middle Eastern Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) are very close relatives of the Alpine ibex, and were formerly considered to be subspecies. Fossils of Alpine ibex dating back to the late Pleistocene, when it and the Spanish ibex probably evolved from the extinct Pleistocene species Capra camburgensis.^[2]

Appearance

Video of a herd of Alpine ibex on Augstmatthorn in the Bernese Highlands, Switzerland

Compared with other members of its genus, the Alpine ibex has a short, broad head and a duller coat pattern. It has brownish grey hair over most of the body, with slightly darker markings on the chin and throat, and in a stripe along the back, and a pale abdomen. They moult twice a year, firstly in April or May, and then again in September, when they replace the short summer coat with thicker hair and a woolly undercoat. As with all goats, males have beards, while females do not.^[2]

Males commonly grow to a height of 90 to 101 centimetres (35 to 40 in) at the withers, with a body length of 149 to 171 centimetres (59 to 67 in) and weigh from 67 to 117 kilograms (150 to 260 lb). Females are noticeably smaller, with a shoulder height of 73 to 84 centimetres (29 to 33 in), a body length of 121 to 141 centimetres (48 to 56 in), and a weight of 17 to 32 kilograms (37 to 71 lb). Both male and female Alpine ibexes have large, backwards-curving, horns with numerous ridges along their length. At 69 to 98 centimetres (27 to 39 in), those of the males are substantially larger than those of females, which reach only 18 to 35 centimetres (7.1 to 14 in) in length.^[2]

Distribution and ecology

Ibex standing on cliff in winter.

The Alpine ibex was, at one point, restricted only to the Gran Paradiso national park in northern Italy, but in recent years it has recolonised most of the European Alps, and is found in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia.^[1] There are currently no recognised subspecies.

Being an excellent climber, its habitat is the rocky region along the snowline above alpine forests, where it occupies steep, rough terrain at elevations of 1,800 to 3,300 metres (5,900 to 10,800 ft).^[3] Alpine ibex are typically absent for woodland areas^[2] although adult males in densely populated areas may stay in larch and mixed larch-spruce woodland most of the year.^[4] In one area they are also found in areas of coniferous forest.^[2] For most of the year, males and females occupy different habitat.^[5] Females rely on steep terrain moreso than males.^[6] Males use lowland meadows during the spring, which is when snow melts and green grass appears.^[6] They then move up to alpine meadows during the summer.^[4] When winter arrives, both sexes move to steep rocky slopes that amass minimal little of snow.^[7] They prefer ibex slopes of 30-45° and will use small caves and overhangs for shelter.^[8] The home ranges of herds are highly variable, depending on the availability of resources, and may also vary in size throughout the year. Figures of anything from 180 to 2,800 hectares (440 to 6,900 acres) have been recorded.^[2][7] Home ranges tend to be largest during summer and autumn, smallest in winter and intermediate in spring.^[2] Female home ranges tend to be smaller than those of males.

Ibex foraging

Alpine ibexes are strictly herbivorous, with over half of their diet consisting of grasses, and the remainder being a mixture of moss, flowers, leaves, and twigs.^[2] If leaves and shoots are out of reach, they often stand on their rear legs to reach this food. Grass genera that are the most commonly eaten are Agrostis, Avena, Calamagrostis, Festuca, Phleum, Poa, Sesleria and Trisetum.^[2] The need to drink every few days in the summer causes the animals to seek permanent residence close to a dependable water source during this season. Alpine ibexes will hide in the rocks of the steep cliffs when pursued by predators.^{[citation needed]} The climbing ability of the Alpine ibex is such that it has been observed standing on the sheer face of a dam, where it licks the stonework to obtain mineral salts.^[9]

Life history

Group of young ibex

Although the Alpine ibex is social species, there exists sexual and spatial segregation depending on the season.^[6] Four types of groups exist. Adult male groups, groups made of females and their dependent offsping, groups made of young individuals of 2–3 years old and mixed sex groups.^[2][10] Young groups are numerous at the beginning of summer but are expelled by females at the end of their gestation period. Female and offspring groups occur year-round, at least in an area of the French Alps.^[10] Mixed sex groups of adult males and females occur during breeding, which lasts from December to January. By April and May, the adults of both sexes stay apart.^[10] The largest aggregations of either sex, occur in late spring and summer, during June and July. Gatherings of males begin to decrease in autumn, during October and November, and are lowest from the rut to early spring, from December to March.^[10] The males then leave their separate wintering areas and gather together again.^[11]

Male ibex locking horns

There is a linear dominance hierarchy among males. In small populations, which are more cohesive, male ibex know their place in the hierarchy based on memories of past encounters^[2] while in mobile and large groups, where encounters with strangers are common, rank is based on the size of the horns.^[12] Antagonistic behavior in male can come in the form of "direct" or "indirect" aggression. With direct aggression, a male may bump other with its horns, usually the tips of blunt, or place itself front of its opponent, standing on its hind legs and come down at it with the horns. This may signal that it is ready to clash or it may be attempting a real clash.^[2] Indirect aggression are mostly made of intimidation displays.^[2]

Young ibex at play

The breeding season starts in December, and typically lasts around six weeks. During this time, male herds break up into smaller groups that travel in search of females. The rut takes place in two phases. In the first phase, the male groups interact with the females who are all in estrous. The higher the male's rank, the closer he can get to a female.^[2] Males will perform courtship displays. In the second phase of the rut, a male will separate from this group and follow an individual female. He will display to her and guard her from other males. Before copulation, the female will move her tail and courtship becomes more intensive. The male will then copulate with the female and then join his group and revert back to the first phase.^[2] Gestation lasts around 167 days, and results in the birth of one or two kids, with twins making up about 20% of births.^[13]

Alpine ibex reach sexual maturity at eighteen months, but females do not reach their maximum body size for five to six years, and males not for nine or eleven years. The horns grow throughout life, growing most rapidly during the second year of life, and thereafter by about 8 centimetres (3.1 in) a year, eventually slowing to half that rate once the animal reaches ten years of age. Alpine ibex have been reported to live for up to nineteen years in the wild^[14]

Conservation status

A young Alpine ibex on a cliff

The Alpine ibex has historically ranged through France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Bavaria, Austria and Slovenia. Starting in the early 1500s the overall population declined due to overexploitation and poaching and the ibex became extinct in Switzerland, Germany and France by the 18th century. Ibexes were extinct in Austria and northeastern Italy by the 19th century,. They remained only in and around the Gran Paradiso Massif. Located in the western Italian Alps, the park was declared a royal hunting reserve in 1854 by Vittorio Emanuele II. The ibex were protected from poaching and their number increased, reaching 3,020 in 1914. The ibex enjoyed further protection when Gran Paradiso was made into a national park in 1922. Animals from this stock both drifted naturally and were introduced to other areas. By 1976, the number of populations of ibex numbered 104.^[2] Today, the total population of Alpine ibex is over 20,000^[15] and is considered to be of Least Concern.^[1]

References