A large wild goat of the mountains of Central and South Asia. Both sexes have corkscrew horns, up to 160 cm long in males, and males grow a long shaggy mane. It is the national animal of Pakistan and is listed as Near Threatened.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Poached for food and for its horns, which some believe have medicinal properties.
At a glance
Found inAsia
HabitatMountains, Forest
ColoursGrey, Brown
SizeLarge
Length132–186 cm
Height65–115 cm at the shoulder
Weight32–110 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inherds
Lives for12–13 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Mountains of Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-west India (Jammu and Kashmir), Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
- What it eats
- Grazes in spring and summer and browses in winter, sometimes standing on its hind legs to reach high branches.
- Conservation
- Near Threatened (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
A wild goat with corkscrew horns, and the national animal of Pakistan.
Its name is often read as "snake eater", from an old belief that it kills and eats snakes.
Its alarm call sounds very like the bleat of a domestic goat.
Often confused with
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