Ibex

The ibex is a wild mountain goat belonging to the genus Capra. Several species live in the mountains of Europe, Asia and northeastern Africa, each adapted to steep, rocky landscapes. Adult males are much larger than females and carry long, curved horns marked with prominent ridges that continue growing throughout life. Females also have horns, but they are much shorter and more slender.

Strong legs, flexible joints and specially adapted hooves with hard outer edges and rough, rubber-like pads allow the ibex to move confidently across cliffs where few predators can follow. Its diet consists mainly of grasses, herbs, leaves and shoots, with food choices changing according to the season and the plants available at different elevations.

Ibexes usually spend the warmer months at high altitudes, where fresh vegetation is abundant, then descend to lower slopes during winter when snow covers much of the alpine meadows. Females and their young generally form small groups, while adult males often live separately outside the breeding season. During autumn or early winter, males compete for access to females by displaying their strength and sometimes clashing their horns.

After a gestation of about five to six months, the female usually gives birth to a single kid that can stand and follow its mother within a few hours. Although several ibex species are stable today thanks to conservation efforts, others remain threatened by habitat loss, climate change and the fragmentation of mountain ecosystems.