The Latin name of the genus Rupicapra is formed from the Latin words rupes - a rock or a cliff and capra - a goat. The genus demonstrates a very difficult story that is not clear yet. After dozens of years of researchers and many hypotheses, the scientists haven't come to the general solution concerning the mono - or polyphilia of Rupicapra and the number of species and subspecies.
The most of zoologists agree that there are two kind of chamois - Rupicapra rupicapra and Rupicapra pyrenaicaс and many subspecies and geographical races. R. pyrenaica has smaller scull and the horns are close to each other plus obliterated frontal-maxillary foramen; the winter wool of R. pyrenaica has wide light spots on the neck, neck, withers and rump while the summer one is dark and monochrome, except for parts of the head and neck. Tournament postures and courtship features of R. rupicapra and R. pyrenaica are also different.
A chamois is a middle size animal, the average length of an adult animal is from 100 to 140 sm, and weight about 50kg. It has a robust constitution and reminds a goat. Sexual dimorphism is weakly expressed, females are only slightly smaller than males.
Both genders have thin, black and curved horns. They are located quite close to each other, although there are variations among the described phenotypes. The horns grow vertically, curving sharply, forming a hook bent back, down, and slightly outward. The main rule says, the head with two horn that length is about two length of the head costs not less than 100 CIC points; a good circumference, a large distance between the ends of the horns, and age would probably make such a trophy worthy of a CIC gold medal.
The fur of the chamois is thick and hard and shows significant seasonal variability-from pale yellowish-brown or red-brown to black-brown. You can easily see the dark line on its back, the sides are darker.
Chamois dwell on steep, rocky areas in the mountains, including alpine meadows, open rocky areas, and mixed broad-leaved and coniferous forests. They are very agile even on very steep slopes and can jump almost 2 m in height and over a distance of about 6 m, running at a maximum speed of 50 km / h. Chamois are very loud and in case of alarm emit a sharp warning whistle.
They prefer to stay on the Alpine meadows near the rocks on the heights from 1500 masl during summer time. In winter they descend to 1100m. The introduced chamois have been found in forests almost at sea level on the west coast of New Zealand's Southern Alps.
They live separately the most time of the year but then the males that are older then six years old join the herd during the rut season.
Currently, chamois are distributed intermittently: from the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain and the Iberian Massif of Spain and France in the west, over most of the middle and high mountain ranges of Southern and Central Europe (such as the Alps in Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland) to areas on the Balkan Peninsula. Chamois are also found on the peninsula of Asia Minor, up to the Caucasus range in the northeast. Alpine chamois have been introduced to several mid-altitude mountain ranges in Central Europe. The total population of the genus Rupicapra, more than 630,000 individuals, confirms the biological success of the chamois.
Currently, the number and range of P. pyrenaica is increasing; the subspecies pyrenaica and parva are reasonably classified as "minimum risk", with a total population of approximately 60,0 The ornata subspecies has recently become a relatively stable population, but should be considered vulnerable to stochastic (random) events and unintentional hybridization, as the existing populations live in isolated areas and number approximately 1,635 individuals.
R. rupicapra is widespread and has a large population-up to 562,000 individuals. Forestry authorities in a number of countries (for example, Austria and Germany) require hunters to significantly reduce the chamois populations in order to preserve and restore protective forests in the Alps.
Some of the less numerous subspecies of the common chamois (e.g., R. r. balcanica, R. r. cartusiana, and R. r. tatrica) are threatened by hybridization with the intentionally introduced Alpine chamois (R. r.rupicapra).
Two subspecies of R. rupicapra are still threatened: R. r. tatrica, inhabitants on the border between Poland and the Slovak Republic in the High Tatras, and R. r. cartusiana, whose range is limited to a single mountain in France, although populations of both subspecies have increased over the past decade. The Caucasian chamois (R. r. caucasica) and, especially, the Lesser Asian chamois (R. r. asiatica), are also in a dangerous state or at least are subject to population decline. The reliable data about modern populations and population growth, legal mining, and poaching are scarce, and most records are fairly outdated, with the exception of a few private conversations with local scientists (for example, in Turkey and Georgia).
The intraspecific taxonomy of animals is a rather arbitrary thing, and it assumes the possibility of separating almost any relatively isolated group of a generally recognized population into an independent taxon. The habitat is more important for hunters than features of the morphology or animal’s behavior because it allows them to travel and to visit new places. It provides a basis for the allocation of subpopulations of already known subspecies. One of them is the Vercors chamois.
The Vercors Massif is located in the east of the French Alps, between the Drac Valley to the west, the Chartreuse Massif to the north, the Yser and Rhone valleys to the east, and the Drome Valley to the south. The highest point reaches 2341 m. This historic land was the first massif to be classified as a regional nature park. At the heart of this park is the largest nature reserve in France with an area of 17,000 hectares.
The Vercors massif has a very good population of chamois. The management of this area and the distribution of licenses is the responsibility of the state, which allocates only a few licenses per year.
The lands, where the company "Pro Hunt” organizes their hunts, have an excellent population and are characterized by excellent quality of trophies, since over the past 12 years only few hunts have been held in these lands. The hunting lands are bordered by a nature reserve, the hunting presure is very small. There are about 200 heads of chamois, the annual quota for shooting is 6 individuals of both sexes.
Since the Vercors massif, like the Chartreuse massif, is an isolated massif, the Vercors chamois is quite entitled to be recognized as a special taxon (following the example of the Chartreuse chamois).
