Rupicapra rupicapra
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Bovidae
Rupicapra
Rupicapra rupicapra

description: 211.
Alpine Chamois
Rupicapra rupicapra
French: Chamois des Alpes / German: Alpen-Gamse / Spanish: Rebeco alpino
Other common names: Northern Chamois; Balkan Chamois (balcanica), Chartreuse Chamois (cartusiana), Tatra
Chamois (tatrica)
Taxonomy. Capra rupicapra Linnaeus, 1758,
Switzerland.
The classification of Rupicapra is unsettled. Rupicaprine ancestors probably originated in Asia and spread to Europe during the Middle Pleistocene. Ice sheets during glacial maxima in the Alps and Pyrenees isolated chamois populations, resulting in genetic differentiation, but during climatic oscillations, there were population contractions, expansions, and hybridization. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
R.r.rupicapraLinnaeus,1758—Germany,Switzerland,Liechtenstein,Austria,France,[taly,Slovenia,andNWCroatia.
R.r.balcanicaBolkay,1925—BosniaandHerzegovina,Serbia,Montenegro,Albania,Kosovo,Macedonia,Bulgaria,andGreece.
R.r.cartusianaCouturier,1938—EFranceonWedgeofFrenchAlps.
R. r. tatrica Blahout, 1972 — Tatras Mts in S Poland and N Slovakia.
Subspecies rupicapra introduced into Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Argentina, and New Zealand.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 110-130 cm, tail 8-10 cm, shoulder height 70-85 cm; weight 25-60 kg. Horn length 17-28 cm (males), horn basal girth 6-10 cm (males). Horns of males are larger in girth than those of females. Tips of horns curve sharply backward and downward. Body pelage of the Alpine Chamois is dark brown in winter and reddish-brown in summer. A dark mid-dorsal stripe extends from the neck to the dark tail. Upper part of head is white from nose to base of horns. Jaw, chin, and throat are white; a white patch extends to the base of the ear. A dark lateral stripe extends from the base of the horns to the eyes and muzzle. Diploid chromosome numberis 58.
Habitat. The Alpine Chamois occurs at elevations up to 3000 m. It typically uses the timberline and the alpine grassland ecotone, but also lower montane forests and alpine foothills as low as 120 m. However, its habitats are variable and include natural or cut clearings, shrub-dominated habitats, and hilly, forested areas. Nearby steep, rocky, precipitous terrain is especially important. During winter, Alpine Chamois favor steep slopes and cliffs, which tend to have less snow cover. During inclement weather, they retreat to forested habitats for thermal cover. In Austria, females occurred at elevations of 1300-1800 m. After parturition, they occurred at higher elevations for several weeks during summer, then moved to lower elevations in August-September and to high elevations again during the mating season. During winter, females mainly occurred on south-facing and steep grassy slopes at 950-1500 m with open or semi-open tree cover. Female chamois were in groups of 2-7. They shared winter home ranges with females belonging to different summer herds, which occasionally included males. Major predators include Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) and Eurasian Lynxes (Lynx lynx). In a study area in the Swiss Jura Mountains, lynxes killed 87-100 chamois annually, and killed more male chamois than females or young.
Food and Feeding. The Alpine Chamois basically consumes graminoids and forbs during warm season and browse in winter. In some areas, trees are an important food component, especially during periods of deep snow. Open shrubby heaths, clearings, alpine meadows bordering forests, and rocky areas that provide security cover,are preferred foraging sites. There is significant overlap in summer diets of Alpine Chamois and domestic sheep and where they occur together, chamois tend to select meadow areas that are hard for sheep to reach, but these tend to be of inferior quality.
Breeding. Mating of the Alpine Chamois occurs principally in November-December and most births are in May and early June; gestation is 165-175 days. Most females first give birth at age three and have a single offpring; twins are rare. During the nonmating season, males tend to be solitary and females form separate herds. Females can be highly protective of their young. During a predation attempt by a golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) on a chamois kid, females surrounded their kids and tried to fend off the eagle with their horns and bodies butfailed. Longevity can be up to 22 years.
Activity patterns. In warm weather, Alpine Chamois usually graze early in the morning, seek shade during the warmest period of the day, and resume grazing in late afternoon when temperatures are cooler. Males spent significantly less time feeding during rut, but time spent lying down remained relatively unchanged during the pre-rut, rut, and post-rut.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Seasonal movements involve migrations between low-elevation forests in winter and subalpine grasslands in spring as the snow recedes. Alpine Chamois occupy higher elevations in July-August and descend to forested habitats in October-November, when snow cover impedes movements and foraging. Females with young had larger home ranges and were in larger herds during the summer than females without young. Males have a greater tendency to disperse than females, although females can undertake more exploratory movements. Females are highly philopatric. In New Zealand, introduced Alpine Chamois have been highly successful in dispersing to unoccupied areas. In Austria, 3-5year-old males had home ranges of 1 km * during winter and summer and undertook relatively short vertical movements between home ranges; 6-10year-old males migrated vertically and horizontally over larger areas during summer and autumn. Males older than ten had home ranges of about 0-5 km* below the tree line during summer and autumn and tended to remain solitary. In winter, males were in exclusive male areas within home ranges equal in size to those in summer. The mean home range size of females was 0-74 km? in summer—autumn and 0-6 km? in winter. Female herds consisted of 25-65 females of all ages, and kids and yearlings of both sexes. Females moved to lower elevations from mid-December to early January, depending on snow depth. In the north-western Italian Alps, chamois males occupied clustered mating territories. These territories were attractive to females during rut, probably because they were in areas of reduced snow cover. Territorial behavior has been speculated to be an important aspect in the natural regulation of chamois populations. Densities of up to 30 ind/km* have been recorded. In the French Alps, mortality did not differ between sexes; survival rates were age-dependent. Maximum age at death of both sexes was 16 years. Winter severity and local density affected survival. Annual survival rates were 0-96 for adults, 0-58 for juveniles, and 0-91 for 1-5-3-5 years-olds. Survival rates of older age classes did not significantly decline. Disease outbreaks, including sarcoptive mange, have been a significant mortality factor.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The “Tatra Chamois” subspecies (tatrica) is classified as Critically Endangered, and the “Chartreuse Chamois” subspecies (cartusiana) is classified as Vulnerable. There are about 435 Tatra Chamois in Slovakia and 80 in Poland, and about 2000 Chartreuse Chamois. There are a total of about 485,000 Alpine Chamois in Europe, with the largest populations occurring in Austria (150,000), Italy (137,000), Switzerland (90,000), France (62,500), and Germany (20,000) as of 2005. There are probably fewer than 4500 “Balkan Chamois” (balcanica). Hunting is allowed in most European countries, with about 70,000 Alpine Chamois harvested annually. Major threats include habitat fragmentation, resulting in small, isolated populations in some areas; poaching; human population pressure, resulting in disturbance due to increased road accessibility, tourism, and outdoor recreational activities; harassment by shepherds and their dogs; competition with livestock and exotic ungulates; and the potential of hybridizing among chamois species and subspecies. Additional concerns include inadequacy of monitoring ungulate populations and lack of information needed to manage populations, especially when determining hunting quotas, in the absence of data on population densities and dynamics.
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description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Bovidae, pp. 444-779 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 698-699, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6512484