Fun Facts About The Ibex

The Ibex is a species of wild goat that can be found in the mountainous regions of central Asia, Northern Africa and Europe. They can be identified by their cloven hooves and distinct long curved horns. The male ibex has a long beard.

Size

The ibex ranges in size from between 1 to 5 and half feet and tend to weigh anywhere between 65 to 265 pounds. Both females and males ibex feature long horns which are used for sexual selection and territorial defense. The male horn can reach as much as 5 feet long.

Diet

As herbivores, the ibex is strictly a vegetarian and eats everything from grasses, bushes and shrubs. The majority of their eating habits revolve around grazing. The diet of an ibex has very low nutritional value which means they must spend most of the day eating.

Habitat

The ibex tends to live on cliffs which are dangerous for its predators. In particular the Walia ibex has been known to live at altitudes of as high as 14,800 feet. The Nubian ibex has developed a special technique to deal with the dry and hot climates of the African and Arabian mountains. This species of ibex has a shiny coat which reflects the sunlight and acts to keep them cool. Ibex are a social species and live in herds. The herd is divided along gender lines which means there is one herd for males and another for females and their offspring. The two herds usually only come into contact during breeding season.

Offspring

The male ibex uses its scent to communicate with potential mate. The male Nubian ibex uses its beard to spread a scent which attracts females during breeding season. The breeding season is known as a rut and during this period males fight each other for the privilege of breeding with females by pushing their heads against one another. The winners will then seek to attract females in a process which takes roughly half an hour.

After the female has been impregnated it will go through a gestation period of between 147 to 180 days and will give birth up anywhere up to three babies at a time. The baby ibex known as a kid is alert after birth and can jump around. After the first four weeks of its life it will be ready to join the group’s other kids and at between four to six months, the kid is fully weaned. The kid will remain with its mother for a minimum of a year and a kid sexually matures between 2 to 6 years. The ibex lives in the wild for as many as 17 years.