From the editor: One of the strategic projects of the Club of Mountain Hunters is to create prerequisites for stimulating the reproduction of mountain hunting animals. In our firm belief, it is trophy hunting that leads to the fact that the local population eradicates poaching, and begins to protect such animals, to create conditions for increasing their numbers. That is the reason why our Club expands the list of awarded animals, offers hunters all new subspecies, populations and other taxa, and thus expands the geography of mountain hunting.
Today we present to the readers the material that substantiates the existence of two subspecies of the Siberian ibex in Tajikistan.
Siberian Ibex- Capra sibiriсa. Siberian Ibex (eng.), Sibirischer Steinbock (germ.), Bouquetin de Siberie (fr.), Ibice Siberiano (spanixh.), nashir, buzi, kukhii Siberia (tajik.), teke (kyrzh.). The geographical distribution of this mountain goat covers the Sayans, Altai, Tarbagatai, the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai systems, the mountains of the northwestern part of the Mongolian People's Republic (including the Gobi Altai), the western parts of Kuen Lun, Tibet and the Himalayas, and finally the mountains in northern Afghanistan, west to Murghab.
The Siberian ibex is one of the common mountain hunting species of hoofed mammals, inhabitants in Tajikistan, it's found exclusively in the highlands (from 2000 to 6000 m above sea level. Its area in the republic covers the entire territory of Badakhshan and Pamir. It is found in the upper reaches of the Turkestan, Zeravshan, Darvaz, Altai, Hissar and Peter the Great ranges. It occurs to find them on the southern ridges, on the Khazrati-shoh Karateginsky, Vakhshsky and Aktau ridge.
Description
Height at the withers 67-100 cm, body length 140-150 cm, weight 35-90 kg (males reach a weight of 120-130 kg). Females are significantly smaller than males. This is the largest representative among other species of goats. It's strongly built, with thick legs, and a long, pointed beard (females have no beard). Both genders have horns. Female's horns are small and slightly arched backwards. Males have large and very spectacular horns. The front surface of the horns is flat enough but have the pronounced circular rings. The horns curve to three-quarters in a circle and ended by sharp tips. Their length is usually up to 100 cm (the record for Tajikistan is 137 cm, got in the Pamirs in 2013). The coat color varies depending on the region and the time of yea, however, it is mainly preserved in brown tones. The summer coat is short, the winter coat is long, coarse and brittle, with a comb-like brush along the ridge and a dense undercoat, which is yellowish-white. There is a large light saddle-shaped spot, besides, males may have white spots on the neck and back. The stripe along the ridge, tail and beard are blackish-brown.
Behavior
It's a social animal. Females and cubs live in stable herds of 10 to 20 individuals, and males form quite large groups of young bachelors. They establish a hierarchy through duels and various behaviors within such herd. Older males often stay alone or form small groups of 5 to 12 individuals.
They often live-in inaccessible places. They are active in the daytime mainly and feed on grasses, but can eat bushes and lichens.
They belong to sedentary animals that migrate only for short distances in search of food and small seasonal migrations.
Habitat
They prefer open, hard-to-reach areas of mountains with steep slopes, numerous rocks and rocky scree.
The goats graze on alpine or steppe lawns, climb glaciers and steep cliffs to rest. They are characterized by extraordinary caution. Their excellent eyesight, fine hearing and sense of smell save them. The guard goat climbs to the top of a cliff or a huge stone when the rest of the herd is grazing or resting, and warns the herd of the slightest danger. They hide in the rocks in case of danger. But they can be very curious at the same time. In winter, they descend lower down the slopes, into the forest belt, or into the valleys of mountain rivers or move to snow-free slopes. They keep in small herds - from 3-5 to 50-80 heads. The better the life condition of the population is the size of herds are bigger. There is evidence that the number of goats in a herd can reach 300-400 animals (winter association of herds). Adult males form separate groups of up to 10-15 heads and live in the inaccessible places, separately from females and young most of the year.
On warm summer days, the ibexes get up before dawn and head to pastures. They prefer to spent hot hours of the day under the canopies of rocks, on the blown crests of mountains or snowfields, and then to resume grazing in the evening. In winter, they often graze almost all day.
Siberian goats have rutting in November or December, it depends on the terrain and weather conditions. The rut season lasts up to 20 days and even more. Adult males aged 5-6 years and older collect large harems of 5-15 females and protect them from other males, driving away young males. Fights between adult males are rarely violent.
Females bring offspring for the first time at the age of two or three. The duration of pregnancy is 170-180 days. At the end of April-MayIn (in some areas – in June), one, rarely two baby goats will be born (as an exception – three). The baby goats can follow their mother from the very first day of life, but usually they lie huddled between rocks or among bushes for about a week. The female feeds the goats with milk until late autumn, but they start eating grass at the age of one month. Lactation lasts up to 5-6 months. Baby goats can follow their mother from the very first day of their life. They stay with the mother until the birth of new goats, and sometimes even longer. The life expectancy of mountain goats in nature is 15-18 years. They live up to 18-20 years in zoos. The age of males can be determined by counting the transverse rings on the horns.
The main predators of the Siberian ibex are snow leopards, wolves and brown bears; a young ibex can also become a victim of lynxes, foxes and golden eagles. The main enemy of mountain goats in the wild is the snow leopard. It approaches the prey, hiding behind the rocks, then picks up from behind the stones, and makes huge jumps of six or more meters. The leopard doesn't chase its prey far, when chases the goat. It prefers to ambush on a rock above the trail and jumps on the victim from above. We can say that to a large extent the leopards exist at the expense of goats. According to zoologists, old males who have weakened during the rutting season or in winter, become victims of leopards more often. According to scientists, there are 74 Siberian ibex per leopard in the Pamirs. In some years, many ibexes die from starvation, because of ice, and from an avalanche in snowy winters.
The Siberian Mountain ibex has long served as an object of sports and commercial hunting. It is a favorite hunting object for locals of Tajikistan at the present time and in ancient times. It can be judged by the numerous rock carvings in the mountains of Tajikistan.
Distribution and subspecies
The taxonomy of this species is extremely confusing. Early sources cite only three subspecies.
Siberian ibex- Capra sibirica sibirica Meyer, characterized by small size, short and thin horns, and shortened nasal bones. It has light color of the coat. It is distributed in Altai, Sayan and northern Mongolia.
Alai ibex – S. S. alaiana noask, has larger size, with long, thick horns and elongated nasal bones. The color is dark. It lives in most of the Tien Shan and the Pamir-Alai.
Kyrgyz ibex – S. S. formosovi Za1kin, differs from the previous one in the absence of a light saddle spot in males in winter. It is widespread in the western Tien Shan: in the Talas Alatau, the Kyrgyz ridge, etc. In 1947, it was brought to the Crimea, where it multiplied on Chatyr-Dagh.
It is now customary to distinguish four subspecies of Capra sibirica, based on the work of a number of researchers:
1. Capra sibirica sibirica – Siberian mountain goat, or Siberian ibex. Natural habitat: Altai and Sayans west of Lake Baikal;
2. Capra sibirica alaiana is a Central Asian Mountain goat, or Central Asian ibex. Natural habitat: Pamir, Alai and Zaalai ridges, Tien Shan;
3. Capra sibirica sakeen – Habitat: Himalayas, Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakorum within the northern Pakistan and North Korea India and adjacent areas of the Western China;
4. Capra sibirica hagenbecki – Gobi Mountain goat, or Mongolian mountain goat. Natural habitat: Gobi, including the Trans-Altai Gobi, Eastern Tien Shan and adjacent areas of northern China.
General appearance and distinctive features
The horns of mountain goats grow most actively in the second year of life. In subsequent years, growth slows down. The growth of horns of adult males (aged 9-10 years) slows down even more. Since the development of horns and their growth strongly depend on environmental factors (availability of feed, minerals, weather).
The horns of males have a saber-shaped or crescent-shaped, arc-shaped shape. They are oval in the section, with two noticeable ribs and a clearly distinguishable flat, but ribbed front surface between them. The anterior surface is covered with protruding transverse ribs or bumps located every 3-5 cm, from the base and almost to the ends of the horns. These ribs or bumps grow from a thick, calloused skin at the base of the horns. Two transverse ribs usually grow on the segments between the annual rings, less often one or three. Some forms have more prominent edges, others have smaller ones. Usually, the outer edge of the transverse tubercles of C. Ibex (Alpine ibex) and C. Sibirica is developed as well as the inner one, often intersecting with the longitudinal lateral ribs. The transverse tubercles of C. Nubiana are usually better developed at the inner edge, which, in combination with their narrower horns and rounded outer edges, enhances the ribbed appearance of the horns.
The shape of the horns is very variable not only between different phenotypes, but also among males from the one group. The bend can vary from almost straight horns to a complete semicircle, and the distance between the ends can be either narrow or very wide, with the tips of the horns pointing either straight or turned inwards or outwards. An important factor in the overall quality of the head is the ratio of the length of the horn to its thickness along its entire length (horn mass index), which is also subject to significant variability.
The longest horns are found in adult males of the Siberian Mountain goat (up to 152 cm, and sometimes longer).
Unlike the Alpine Mountain goat, whose wool has a uniform color and is usually darker, the color of the wool of the Siberian ibex varies significantly throughout the vast distribution area, depending on the geographical location, and also has seasonal and age variations.
In the north of the habitat, the main color is quite light; specimens from the Tien Shan and Pamir often have chocolate-brown fur, but there are also lighter shades from reddish to light gray. The shape of spots on the lower back and in the neck area is very different for all Asian phenotypes; spots can be either pronounced or absent altogether, even within one herd. Spots on the back may be absent in summer wool, but they can be clear and bright in winter. All male mountain goats have impressive beards.
C. sibirica, like other Asian species, has clear markings on the front legs, which is absent in Alpine Mountain goats. Unlike mountain goats of Europe and Africa, the Siberian Mountain goat has a callus on the knees and wrist joints of the front legs with a diameter of about 3 cm to climb steep slopes.
The movements of this goat are swift and dexterous. It can stand on the sharp top of the cliff with all its feet to look around from there. The goat wanders with a slow gait when it doesn't sense any danger. Occasionally, in the summer heat, mountain goats rush to the watering hole with all their legs, making huge jumps. A herd of goats quickly runs up high cliffs, climbing into inaccessible places when pursued. Narrow mountain ledges, steep slopes with stone scree, cracks over a precipice 6-9 m wide do not detain a mountain goat. It makes its way along such barely protruding mountain ledges confidently and tenaciously, which no large animal can pass through.
The Siberian ibex is a silent animal; it rarely gives a voice outside of the mating period. It emits a sharp whistle in case of an alarm. It mumbles hollowly when it wounded or caught by dogs. The young ones make sounds, which resembles the bleating of a young domestic lamb, only more muffled and strangled. But males roar very loudly During the rut; females also roar, but much quieter.
Population size
The number of mountain goats in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Soviet times (the 1970s) was estimated at about 70,000 animals. A helicopter survey of wild ungulates in Tajikistan conducted in 1990 on the territory of the Pamir-Alai showed an expert assessment of the Siberian ibex at 14,000 heads. The civil war in Tajikistan (1992-1996) led to excessive poaching, which caused a significant reduction in the population. However, at the end of the millennium, the populations of mountain goats seem to be recovering, but there is still no exact information about the state of their population.
4288 individuals were found only on the lands of hunting companies according to the latest accounting in the Pamir territory (2018). We also adhere to the expert estimate of 14,000 individuals, and we believe that the number is stable at the moment.
Trophy hunting for Siberian ibex has been carried out in Tajikistan in the last 30 years, mainly in the Pamirs. From 50 to 100 trophies are hunted annually. Some of those trophies were examined and processed. The analysis of these materials suggests that two forms (subspecies) of the Siberian ibex live in Tajikistan, these are Capra sibirica alaiana and Capra sibirica sakeen.
The range of Capra sibirica alaiana covers the territories of Central and Northern Tajikistan and is found on the territory of the southern ridges and Badakhshan.
The subspecies Capra sibirica sakeen lives exclusively on the territory of the Pamirs. Moreover, the habitat areas of both forms are clearly separated by the geographical border of Badakhshan and the Eastern Pamirs.
They also differ morphologically – in body color, shape and horns' size.
Below there is a description of the coloring of two forms of Siberian ibex in Tajikistan. The coloring of animals depends on gender, age and season of the year. Young up to the first year, are light gray, with a slight tint of brownish color as a rule, with the tail is dark brown. Females are monochrome throughout the year, light brown in color, sometimes with a gray tint. Older females, over 12 years old, acquire a yellowish-ochre color. In some females s clearly visible so-called belt, a dark stripe along the spine, it's on the back along the spine.
Males of the Capra sibirica sakeen subspecies, which lived in the Pamirs, have a dark brown, almost black color of the upper body. The head, neck, upper back, sides with forelimbs are brown, the forelimbs and hind limbs have stripes of black hair, and in the area of the hock the hair color is whitish-gray. The bottom of the body- the chest and belly is lighter than the back. The tail is dark brown to blackish, with a small mirror of light hair around the root of the tail. The beard is brown up to 10-15 cm long. The older males (about 10 years old) have peculiar sideburns, which are connected to the beard.
They have a white spot on their back (saddle) starting from the age of four, which increases with age and sharply contrasts with the surrounding coloration. Some of them have a second, small white spot on their neck from the age of eight.
Males live up to 13-14 years, females up to 18 years.
Most of the males of this subspecies have sickle-shaped horns, bent straight and backward with a slight width- up to 70%. About 20% of goats have a saber-shaped horns– the horns are straight and only bent back at the end. Males with spreading horns backwards and to the side are less common – about 10%.
Females and young goats of the subspecies Capra sibirica alaiana are almost identical in color with the previous subspecies and have more gray tones. Males are lighter, gray tones predominate in color. The white spot is not so pronounced and almost imperceptible against the background of the general coloration of the back. Males live up to 10-12 years, and so do females. Their horns are saber-shaped with a slight collapse. Hybrid forms with transitional coloration are often found on the border of the habitat of both forms of ibexes.
Thus, two distinct subspecies of the Siberian ibex live on the territory of Tajikistan, the range of which is clearly demarcated.
The subspecies Capra sibirica sakeen lives on the territory of the Pamir Highlands (Pamir), which suggests that it may be a separate subspecies of the Siberian ibex living in the Pamirs. Further genetic studies can confirm this assumption
Maps:
Maps from the Atlas of Mountain Artiodactyls (Damm and Franco). The shaded area is the area where the populations of Capra sibirica alaiana and Capra sibirica sakeen can mix with each other.
Quotes:
It follows From the data given in the Atlas Caprinae that the main habitat of the Himalayan ibex (C. S. saleen) is: the north-west of India, the northern regions of China, as well as vast mountainous areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In the context of the article, it is of interest that the Himalayan Mountain ibex is found in the Vakhan corridor of Badakhshan province, south of the Panj River/Vakhandarya. There is a high probability that in southern and southeastern Tajikistan, populations of C. s. saleen and C. s. alaiana mix and coexist both separately and with the formation of hybrid forms.
Damm and Franco stipulate that they only conditionally accept the Panj River as the dividing line between the Himalayan Mountain ibexes in the south and the Central Asian phenotype in the north/Vakhandarya on the Afghan side of the border; the rivers of Tashkent and Yarkand (Kashgar District) on the Chinese side; Kunlun and western Altyntag beyond the northeastern border of the distribution of the Himalayan mountain ibex.
R.S. Muratov Institute of Zoology and Parasitology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan
