Wild goat

Capra aegagrus
Domestic Goat, Capra aegagrus hircus
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Caprinae
Genus:	Capra
Species:	C. aegagrus
Binomial name
Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777
Subspecies
Capra aegagrus aegagrus Capra aegagrus blythi Capra aegagrus chialtanensis Capra aegagrus cretica Capra aegagrus hircus Capra aegagrus turcmenica

The wild goat (Capra aegagrus) is a common type of goat species, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East.

Social Structure

In the wild, goats live in flocks of up to 500 individuals; males are solitary. Male goats go through a period called a rut, where they are ready to mate. During the rut old males drive younger males from the maternal herds. The gestation period averages 170 days. Does (females) usually give birth to one kid. Kids can follow the mother goat almost immediately after birth. Kids are weaned after 6 months. Female goats reach sexual maturity at 1.5-2.5 years, males at 3.5-4 years. The lifespan of a goat can be from 12 to 22 years.

 Environmental Problems caused by Goats

Though wild goats are native to some areas introduction to new areas can be extremely destructive. On the Galapagos wild goats (descendents of the goats left by explorers) ate the native plants. This threw the ecosystem off, in order to correct this they were hunted to extinction on the islands. Though this may seem like an extreme measure, it was necessary to prevent native species' extinction.

Subspecies

• Capra aegagrus aegagrus (Bezoar Ibex)
• Capra aegagrus blythi (Sindh Ibex)
• Capra aegagrus chialtanensis (Chiltan Ibex)
• Capra aegagrus cretica (Kri-kri)
• Capra aegagrus hircus (Domestic Goat)
• Capra aegagrus turcmenica (Bearded Goat)
• Capra aegagrus pictus

Distribution

• Afghanistan
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Cyprus
• Georgia
• Greece
• India
• Iran
• Iraq
• Italy
• Lebanon
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Russia
• Slovakia
• Syria
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan

References

• Template:IUCN2006 Listed as Vulnerable (VU A2cde v2.3)

External links

• Red List entry