Capra pyrenaica

The ibex or Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) is one of the species of bovids of the Capra genus that exist in Europe. Formerly distributed throughout southern France, Andorra, Spain and Portugal, the ibex is an endemism that is currently found mainly in the mountainous areas of Spain and northern Portugal. The other species of the genus are the alpine ibex or goat of the Alps (Capra ibex), the Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), the tur of the Western Caucasus (Capra caucasica), the tur of the East Caucasus (Capra cylindricornis), the wild goat or bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus), the markhor (Capra falconeri), the Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) and the Ethiopian ibex (Capra walie).

Paleontology

The genus Capra arrived in the Iberian Peninsula, like the rest of Europe, probably at the end of the Pliocene, from Asia. The consolidation of these populations and their adaptation to the Iberian ecosystems, as well as the isolation of the Iberian Peninsula on numerous occasions due to glaciations, produced a process of differentiation and speciation of the Iberian populations until giving rise to the currentCapra pyrenaica.

Description

The ibex is a species with strong sexual dimorphism, like many other bovids. Females measure about 1.20 m long and 60 cm high at the withers, weighing between 30 and 45 kg. It has fairly short horns and looks quite similar to a domestic goat, although the domestic goat would have its origin in the bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus) or the markhor (Capra falconeri). Males, on the other hand, can reach 148 cm in length and have a height of 77 cm at the withers, reaching a maximum weight of 120 kg. The horns of males are noticeably thick and can be three times as long as those of females. They are further apart than the horns of other species of the genus Capra. Adult males also have a longer face and the typical dark goatee under the jaw.

The color and length of the fur varies depending on the subspecies and the time of year, becoming longer and grayer in winter. After molting in April and May, the color is brown or cinnamon, with dark spots on the underside of the legs that in adult males can extend to the sides, shoulders and belly. The central part of this is white in both sexes, and the tail is black and short (12-13 cm.). The phenology of the coat could be one of the important factors in the seasonal cycles of some parasites transmitted by contact, such as the mites that cause sarcoptic mange.

Ethology and habitat

This species develops equally during the day and at night, although its maximum hours of activity are located in the morning and late afternoon, near twilight. In winter they carry out their activity in the central hours of the day, which is when it is warmest.

They are sociable animals, but they often change herds. This can be made up of adult males, females with their young or adolescents of both sexes (in the latter case, only during the summer). Adult males and females meet during the mating season, in the months of November and December—characterized by violent head-to-head combats between the males. Investment in testicular mass is a very important factor in sexual selection processes. In the ibex, this investment is greater during the mating season, especially at ages in which the individuals are subordinates who opt for a reproductive strategy of persecution and not monopolization of the female. The offspring (the same female can give birth to two or three chotos) are born in May.

They live in both forests and herbaceous areas, in mountainous areas between 500 and 2500 m above sea level. n. m., rising in summer even above 3000 m s. n. m. The protection they enjoy has led them to be distributed to previously totally unthinkable areas such as coastal areas of Malaga, Granada or Almería, where they can occasionally be seen on the seashore. The diet is predominantly herbaceous, although in winter it becomes more bushy. If necessary, they dig into the snow to access the vegetation.

Subspecies

Four subspecies of mountain goats are recognized, two of which have become extinct in recent times. However, several authors have questioned their validity. These subspecies are the following:

• Capra pyrenaica hispanica, with a discontinuous distribution that extends through the mountain ranges close to the Mediterranean Sea. It reaches its highest concentration in Sierra Nevada.
• Capra pyrenaica lusitanicaHe was known as mueyu. Originally distributed by the border mountains between Galicia and Portugal, it was extinguished in 1892 in the Serra de Gerês (Portugal).
• Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica, subspecies-type originally located in the French and Spanish Pyrenees, popularly called bucardo. The last specimen died in January 2000.
• Capra pyrenaica victoriaedistributed unevenly in the mountain ranges of central and northern Spain. Its main population is in the Sierra de Gredos, where about 10,000 copies dwell. Considered a kinegetic subspecies, under certain restrictions.

Conservation status

The ibex has wolves, bears and eagles as natural predators, but these have recently disappeared from large areas of its distribution. Hunting of this species by man already occurred in Prehistory, first by Neanderthal man and from forty thousand to thirty-five thousand years ago, by Homo sapiens. Its remains are abundant in Paleolithic caves and it is frequently represented in cave paintings throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

With the introduction of agriculture and the increase in the human population (and with it, hunting), its population disappeared from several areas and in others it decreased significantly. In recent times, the fact that it is a unique species in the world, endemic to the peninsula, has made it a sought-after species of big game. There is evidence of the express arrival of hunters from France and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries, especially to the Pyrenees, seeking to hunt a specimen and obtain a trophy.

The alternative common name of Iberian ibex has been proposed.

As for other species of mountain ungulates, parasites and diseases also play an important role in regulating populations. However, alterations in the 'parasite-host' relationships sometimes lead to marked imbalances and epizootics. For example, sarcoptic mange, endemic in some areas, is also capable of putting some populations at risk. This disease, sometimes fatal for ibexes, affects males and females unequally, and limits the abilities reproductive of individuals.

At the end of the 19th century the ibex population was in rapid decline, with the Galician-Portuguese subspecies having become extinct. In 1905, Alfonso It was not until 1950 when numerous reserves began to be created to protect the ibex, although in many cases adequate policies were not created for this purpose. The recent extinction of the bucardo is largely due to this, reduced to only twenty specimens in 1970 and therefore condemned to disappearance in a few decades. The lack of wild goats for hunting was attempted to be covered during the late Franco regime with the introduction of other foreign bovids, such as the mouflon and the aruí, species that have had an uneven impact on the local flora and fauna and in some cases have placed even more The ibex is in trouble, as it competes with it for the same resources. Competition for food with domestic livestock, the risk of hybridization with the domestic goat, and the risk of artificial selection by and for hunting activity. They are also risk factors for the conservation of some populations.

The subspecies that survive could number close to fifty thousand specimens, present mostly in Sierra Nevada, Gredos, Las Batuecas, Los Puertos de Morella, Muela de Cortes, Serranía de Cuenca, Alcaraz, Sierra Madrona, Sierra Mágina, Sierra de Cazorla, Sierra de Segura, Sierra Sur de Jaén, Los Filabres, Sierra de las Nieves and Montes de Cádiz. A few heads have also been introduced in various points of the peninsular sector, such as the Guadarrama mountain range or the municipal area of Albaladejo (Ciudad Real).

In 2006, thirteen goats were reintroduced to Doney de la Requejada, Sanabria.

The Government of Galicia has been carrying out a large-scale reintroduction plan in the Galician autonomous community since 2003. While hunting of the species is not allowed in many areas, in others, such as Gredos, it is used as a means to control their population due to the scarcity of natural predators, while providing valuable contributions to local economies.^{[citation needed]}

It has been reintroduced to the Cantabrian mountain range from the captive nucleus of Riaño, with various nuclei existing in Los Ancares and the Picos de Europa regional park in Castilla y León and dispersive individuals being observed in Asturias and Liébana. In the medium term it will recolonize the entire mountain system.^{[citation required]}

Since 2014 it has been reintroduced in the Pyrenees, specifically in the French Pyrenees National Park and the Ariège Pyrenees Regional Natural Park, from individuals from the Guadarrama mountain range. After detection of a group in the Bujaruelo valley, with the appearance in 2022 of a specimen within the Ordesa national park, the replacement of the extinct native subspecies with a subspecies alien to the mountain range is completed.

There are also plans to support the development of the population in Sierra Nevada.