Characteristics

A penetrated a meter long, has an eight centimeter long tail, is at the Widerrist 75 centimeters high and weighs 30 to 50 kilogram they and strongly built, with rather slim neck, long, strong feet, rather awkward hooves, without tear pits and with up to 25 centimeters long, turninground horns, which are at the root small ELT, are backwards curved straight to ascend and at the point to short head, with pointed ears of almost half head length, strongly toward the lip. Both sexes carry horns. Behind them is a cave, which Brunftfeige so mentioned, leading into a gland bag, from which to the Brunftzeit a smudgy, evil-smelling secretion separates.

In the summer the is dirtily red-brown, on the lower surface brightly red-yellow, on the back with a black-brown strip, at the throat pale-yellow, in the neck white-yellowish. The rear side of the thighs is white, the tail on the lower surface and at the point black. From the ears runs over the eyes a black longitudinalbind.

In the winter the is dark-brown above or brown, at the belly knows, at the feet and at the head yellowish-white, on the vertex and at the lip somewhat more darkly. Both dresses turn into imperceptibly into one another. Hunters differentiate the large, dark-brown forest animal from the smaller, red-brown burr animal.

Habitat

The inhabits the alps, is from Savoyen to Southern France, in Dalmatien and from Greece to the north up to the Karpaten. Also in the Caucasus and Anatolien occur. In Upper Bavaria, the salt chamber property, in the Steiermark and are much more numerous the than in Switzerland. In Spain and Italy another kind the belonging Pyrenees lives. The largest district of Europe is in the Hochschwabgebiet in the Steiermark

The animal is dearest in the upper forest belt, continues to climb in the summer however frequently in the mountains. If the is disturbed too much further down, she goes even into the most inaccessible areas, of where out she visits then with incipient crack of the daily the grass fields between rock. Against the winter it moves further into the forests down.

Way of life

Females and young animals live in herds to 15 to 30 animals. The social gang changes with the seasons. In the summer it is very intensive; an animal of the herd is turned off at this time always as guards and warns the others with danger by a whistle. To the winter the herd co-operation becomes more loosely, and some herds mix themselves or dissolve. Supports live and visit only in the late summer a herd. They sell the male young animals, if they are old enough, and maintain ground in fights against sex comrades. In the second November half then the mating takes place.

At the end of May or Anfang June throws in the rarely two or three boy, which follow soon the nut/mother and three months are In the third year that is attained full growth boy. The reaches an age of 15 years, the females becomes old up to 20 years.

Their food consists of recent impulses of the alpine bushes (alpine rose, Erle, pasture, Wacholder, Kiefer) as well as of herbs, sheets and grasses, in the winter also from Moos and lichens.

Enemies

The is endangered by rolling down stones and pieces of rock as well as by avalanches (particularly early autumn avalanches are frequently deadly for many Gamskitze), in severe winters also by robbery animals of lack of fodder such as Luchs, wolf and bear pursues them. The stone eagle tears now and then Gamskitze.

Humans and

Bejagung

The hunt for takes place usually in the high mountains, since by the management of high-altitude and forests the Gamsrudel must often evade over the timber line, in order to be able to live more or less unimpaired. Since do not shrink from a steep burr and no rocky areas, the hunt is laborious and often dangerous. The actually bejagbare existence is often very small, since by the adverse environmental condition in the high-alpine winter many young animals do not survive in particular. Also epidemics are jointly responsible such as and parasitic and infectious illnesses for a high death rate.

Meaning for humans

The meat of the is good-tasting and becomes highly estimated; the skin gives beautiful leather, which is converted particularly to leg dresses and gloves. The horns are converted to Stockgriffen and the hair on the Widerrist as Hutschmuck (Gamsbart). In the stomach of the one finds occasionally the so-called or the German Bezoar. The same were in former times expensively paid because of alleged arzneilicher effectiveness just like the Gamsblut, are however without value.

Young caught, they let them nourish and become with goat milk much zahm, sometimes reproduce themselves in the shank. On the alps goats are to be fitted by and witnessed hybrids, which can be drawn up with difficulty.

Subspecies

Usually, the Pyrenees is not taken into account, seven subspecies are counted:

• (R.R. rupicapra) in the alps; relatively frequently
• (R.R. carpatica) into the Romanian Karpaten; relatively frequently
• (R.R. balcanica) in the mountains the Balkans; relatively frequently
• Turkish (R.R. asiatica) in Anatolien; relatively frequently
• (R.R. caucasica) in the Caucasus; of the IUCN as endangers led; to the early 1990ern there were still 15,000 in the Caucasus; by Wilderei and the political conflicts the existence are to have broken down and have drastically reduced within the last fifteen years.
• Tatra (R.R. tatrica) in the high Tatra along the Polish slowakischen border; because there are only 250 copies, the IUCN status was increased 2000 to "“strongly threatened"”; Problems prepare this disturbances by the tourism.
• Chartreuse (R.R. cartusiana) in the Chartreuse, a mountain range in the southeast of France; likewise strongly threatens about 150 individuals, therefore.

Altogether there are about 400,000 In addition there is an imported on the south island of New Zealand.

Pyrenees

The Spain and Italy is regarded today as own kind: the Pyrenees (Rupicapra pyrenaica). It is more reddish colored and has larger white ranges at neck and flanks. Altogether the outward differences between both kinds are however marginal. Despite the name the Pyrenees lives northern Spain not only in the Pyreneeses, but also in other hilly areas. The population becomes estimated on 35.000 animals.

As if threatened its subspecies, the (R. p applies. ornata). It lives only in the Abruzzen national park in central Italy. The there population enclosure only about 300 animals, is considered however as relatively stable. In addition there are some animals as reserve in zoo-logical gardens, approximately in the Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich.

See also

• gave also its name, the Chamois to a colour ("„gamsfarben "“).

Literature

• L. Briedermann/V. quiet: The Gemse of the Elbsandsteingebirges. New Brehm library Bd. 493. Westarp 1987. ISBN 3-89432-384-1

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