Willem is a wildlife artist based in South Africa. He says "My aim is simply to express the beauty and wonder that is in Nature, and to heighten people's appreciation of plants, animals and the wilderness. Not everything I paint is African! Though I've never been there, I'm also fascinated by Asia and I've done paintings of Asian rhinos and birds as well. I may in future do some of European, Australian and American species too. I'm fascinated by wild things from all over the world! I mainly paint in watercolours. . . but actually many media including 'digital' paintings with the computer!"

Today we're back with horned critters, this time one that still exists – the Markhor, Capra falconeri. This is one of the most impressive of wild goat species. The Markhor lives in scrubby mountain forests in western India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It is the national animal of Pakistan. There are five currently recognized subspecies: the Astor, Bukharan, Kabul, Kashmir and Suleiman Markhors. They differ chiefly in the length and degree of spiralling of the horns. But even in a single population, there can be a lot of variation in the size and configuration of the horns. The name 'Markhor' means 'snake eater/killer', and may refer to a legend of these goats killing snakes with their horns, and then eating them. After that, they supposedly chew the snakes as they would chew the cud with vegetable matter, and a foam drips out of their mouths. People can then collect this foam and use it to extract the poison from a snakebite. There doesn't seem to be any actual substance to this legend. The association with snakes may come because their horns resemble coiled snakes. If markhors kill snakes at all, they would likely stomp on them with their hooves.

The markhor is the tallest of the wild goats, standing up to 115 cm/45" at the shoulder. Its horns also stand tall; along the spiral they may measure 160 cm/63"! In bodyweight, a large ram can reach 110 kg/243 lbs. Only the Siberian Ibex, among living goats, is heavier. The ewe is much smaller than the ram, with a more reddish coat, a shorter beard, much shorter horns (only about 25 cm/10"), and no mane.

Like other wild goats, markhors inhabit very rugged terrain. They live on mountains, ranging in altitude from 600m/2000' to 3600 m/11 800'. They're excellent climbers, but not very fast, with a maximum running speed of about 16 km per hour/10 mph. They are active by day, mainly in the early morning and late afternoon. They live in small flocks in scrub or light forest, and associated grassy patches. Like domestic goats, they communicate by bleating. They are said to have a very strong and rather unpleasant odour. Of the total population, about one third are adult and sub-adult rams, one third ewes, and one third kids. In the regions and altitudes where they occur, winters can be extremely cold, and they grow a long, shaggy winter coat to protect themselves. During the summers when the climate is more tolerable, the females will move up beyond the treeline, but the males remain in the forest. Markhors both graze and browse, making use of the growth of grass in the summer, but browsing trees and bushes in the winter, standing on their hind legs at times to reach high twigs and leaves.

The heavy horns of markhor rams are used during the mating season, when they will fight and wrestle, locking their horns and trying to unbalance or overpower each other. Markhors mate in the winter, so that their kids can be born in the summer when there's abundant forage. The ewe gives birth typically to just a single kid. It is weaned at about six months of age, and can reach sexual maturity at 18 to 30 months. In the wild, markhor can live to the age of 12 years.

In the wilds of central Asia, the predators of the markhor include golden eagles (targeting small kids rather than adults), snow leopards, lynxes, wolves and bears. They use their sharp eyesight and keen sense of smell to detect predators, and their agility in steep terrain when fleeing. But their most dangerous predators are humans, who can pick them off at great distances using firearms. Because of their incredible horns, male markhors are favourites with trophy hunters. Some funds are raised in Pakistan through legal hunting licences, but they're also illegally hunted in Afghanistan and other countries. They're also poached by poor people for their meat. This has led to a fragmentation of the natural population, so that they are now existing as lots of small, widely separated flocks, in which inbreeding and a lack of genetic variation can become a danger.

But markhors are also being affected by close relatives of theirs – domestic goats. Under human protection, domestic goats are now flourishing throughout the range of the markhor (not to mention almost all other herbivores over large regions of the world) and as goats do, eat vast amounts of the natural vegetation. They frequently displace markhors from the best grazing and browsing ,regions. In addition, there seems to be a small amount of inbreeding between goats and markhors. Some markhors in zoos have been found to have domestic goat genes. On the other hand, there's the possibility that several breeds of domestic goats that have spiralling horns actually have a bit of markhor blood in them. This is not unlikely and is currently being investigated. But wild, pure markhors are in a serious decline, with only about 2 500 or so remaining. There are legal measures in place to protect them, but with countries in its range being rather politically unstable and anarchic, it's often difficult to enforce them. Markhors are present in zoos, but so far not in very large numbers. They depend on their wild environments being protected and kept goat- and poacher-free.

Willem

24.04.23 Front Page

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