| Chamois / Gemse (Rupicapra rupicapra) By Mark Walker |
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| The Chamois is a goat like animal, but it belongs in its own genus and is more closely related to the Goral than to the goats. The Chamois is superbly adapted to the mountains having particulaly soft hooves which help it to grasp to the rocks on the mountains where it lives. It also has large dew claws which help it to clasp to slopes when decending. Chamois are very distinctive animals. The summer coat is a pale brown colour, and the winter coat is a much darker brown. The winter coat is much thicker. The most distinctive feature of Chamois is thier black and white face markings. Both sexes possess horns which curve backwards. The males horns are much thicker and more curved than the females. The Chamois is at home in the high mountains of central, southern and eastern Europe. In summer it moves above the tree line to feed on the high alpine meadows, but it spends the winters in the lower mountain forests. It eats grasses, herbs, leaves, and shoots. Chamois can consume many plants whcih are poisnous to man, such as yew, foxglove and deadly nightshade, but they avoid nettles and ferns. The females live in groups but the males have a more solitary life. The rut is in the Autumn and the males try to round females up! Opposing males may clash their horns and chase each other to decide who gains access to females. Rutting male chamois have terrritories which they mark with scent from the gland found behind their horns. They also grunt loudly in their territories! Preganancy in Chmaois lasts 6 months. The normally single kids stay with the mother for a year, but only suckle for 6 months. |
| Body length- 1.1 |
| Tail length- 3-8 |
| Weight- 30-50 kg |
| Lifespan- maximu |
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| What are Chamois? Chamois are goat like animals which live in mountainous areas in Europe. They are not quite goats and not quite antelope, they are in between and belong to their own genus. Basically there are two main types or species of Chamois, there is the Alpine Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, and the Pyrenean Chamois Pyrenaica pyrenaica. Both of these different species are divided into a number of different sub-specis. Some of the Alpine subspecies of Chamois, are; R.r.rupricapra - alpine subspecies R.r.ornata- appennines R.r.tatrica-Czech The Pyrenean Chamois has 3 sub-species: Pyrenaica pyrenaica Pyrenaica parva Pyrenaica ornata It is thought the Chamois are originally an east asian species which split into the different sub-species during the ice age and pleistocene. What do Chamois look like? Chamois are goat like animals with dark brown coats and characteristic white facial markings. The Chamois coat changes depending on the season. In winter the coat is very thick and dark to help keep the goat warm. However with the approach of summer the coat changes and moults and becomes much thinner and lighter so the Chamois does not become too hot. Chamois are fairly small. They weigh about 30kg. |
| How can you tell the age of an individual Chamois? There are two main ways in which you can find the age of Chamois. As with sheep Chamois teeth will change as it ages. The teeth grow in certain patterns and by using suitable reference books the age can be found. The teeth become worn with age. However this is difficult in the field. Few Chamois will obligingly open there mouths while you look inside! Another way is by looking at the horns. The horns of a Chamois grow in the summer months each year. In winter the horns do not grow, this means definite and obvious horn rings develop. By counting the rings on the horns it is possible to work out the age of the animal. In practise this method can also be difficult, and often it is very difficult to age an animal in the field unless you are very experienced. In most cases you need to see the animal close up to succesfully age it, this normally means the animal must be dead! There is a distinct knack to successfully ageing Chamois from there horns. The horns grow in a specific pattern. The largest segment growths occur when the chamois is 1 to 4, after this the horn sections are much smaller. This diagram shows it more clearly. By counting the large growth segments, then all the little growth rings, the age of the chamois can be found. How can I Sex Chamois? There are a number of ways to sex Chamois. One way is too look at the horns. In the males the horns are more curved and longer than in the females. However this method is difficult in the field, especially if you are inexperienced and have few individuals to compare. There can be considerable variation in this trait making correct identification from horns alone difficult. Another and certainly easier way in the field is too examine the group size the animals are in. Large groups of Chamois will almost certainly be females, while single or groups of only two or three Chamois will probably be males, who lead a more solitray life. The male Chamios has an obvious pinzel, below its belly. This is the place below the belly where the penis is, and it can be seen as a lump of dangling or slightly matted hair. Female Chamois are smaller and paler than Male Chamois, but again using this method alone in the field is difficult if you have few individauls to compare with each other. |
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