Gredos Ibex or Western Spanish Ibex

Description:

The Western Spanish Ibex or Gredos Ibex (Capra pyrenaica victoriae) is a vulnerable goat endemic to Spain. The Iberian ibex, Spanish ibex, Spanish wild goat, or Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica) is a species of ibex with four subspecies. Of these, two can still be found on the Iberian Peninsula, but the remaining two are now extinct. The Portuguese subspecies became extinct in 1892 and the Pyrenean subspecies became extinct on January 6, 2000. An ongoing project to clone to the Pyrenean subspecies resulted in one clone being born alive in January 2009. This is the first taxon to become "un-extinct", although the clone died a few minutes after birth. Capra pyrenaica are strong mountainous animals characterized by their large and flexible hooves and short legs. These physical adaptations allow them to be able to run and leap on bare, rocky, rough, and steep slopes. The Iberian ibex also shows remarkable sexual dimorphism, with males being greater in size and weight and also having larger horns as the females. The horns of the ibexes are different among wild caprids as they curve out and up and then back, inward, and, depending on subspecies, either up again or down.

Habitat:

high peaks in Gredos mountains in the middle-west of Spain. The biggest population is in Sierra de Gredos between the provinces of Cáceres and Ávila; There is also another important population in Las Batuecas. The Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica populates the Iberian Peninsula and consisted originally of four subspecies. However with recent extinctions occurring within the last century, only two of the subspecies still exist. These two subspecies of ibexes, the Capra pyrenaica hispanica and the Capra pyrenaica victoriae, can be founded along the Spanish Iberian Peninsula and have even migrated and settled into the coast of Portugal.