The Alpine Ibex lives in high mountains and on alpine grasslands above the tree line.It seldom visits the tree belt and never visiting the deep forests. Throughout the summer they move to higher and higher ground up the mountain in order to graze, being at their highest during September or October. As in other ungulates the females and kids form seperate groups away from the males. The two sexes only mingling during the rut in December and January.
The large horns of the male are designed for male to male fighting. During the summer they fight often in the morning and evenings, but this is mainly mock ritualistic fighting, helping them to practise. The real fighting occurs during the rut when the strongest males compete. The males fight by pushing against each other with their horns.
The mating season is between December and January and a single kid is born in May or June. The pregnancy lasts about 150 days. The kids are able to follow their mother over the rocks within a few days of birth. The young are mature at about 2 years of age.
In the past Ibex lived throughout the Alps. However they began to be hunted because they were thought to stop illness. They were hunted and various parts were eaten and the horns were turned into rings to prevent ill health and make people better. This continued throughout the middle ages. The Ibex was nearly exterminated by the 19th century due to this hunting. But a few dozen animals were kept on the Italian/French border near Gran Paradiso from the 1850s. From this small remaining group all Alpine Ibex originate. Captive breeding was conducted at zoos like Vienna Schoenbrunn and Salzburg, and wild groups were once again established. One of the first being at St. Gallen in Switzerland in 1892. Many more wild groups were founded in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
Spanish Ibex
As well as the Alpine Ibex there is another species of European Ibex the Spanish Ibex (Capra pyrenaica) which lives in Spain, but is critically endangered. It has similar habits to the Alpine Ibex. Its horns are slightly different from the Alpine Ibex in that they curve outwards slightly more.
Yes, there are a number of closely related Ibex like goats throughout the world. All have similar habits to Alpine Ibex and live in mountainous areas. They are mainly separated by differences in their horn shape. Whether they are separate species or sub-species, or in fact all the same, is the discussion of much debate. However they are certainly closely related with similar ancestors. There are Siberian Ibex, Himalayan Ibex, Caucasian Ibex, Nubian Ibex, and Abyssinian Ibex. All are threatened in their natural habitats.
Can Ibex be aged?
Yes, their ‘knobbly’ horns are composed of numerous rings. During the rut the horn grows only very slowly, thus producing small black rings. By counting these the age of an ibex can be worked out.
How do Ibex fight?
Most fights outside the rutting period are purley ritual. Normally they stand on their hind legs then smash there horns together.
