Rupicapra pyrenaica Bonaparte 1845
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 pyrenaica

description: 208.
Pyrenean Chamois
Rupicapra pyrenaica
French: Isard des Pyrénées / German: Pyrendaen-Gamse / Spanish: Rebeco pirenaico
Other common names: Southern Chamois
Taxonomy. Rupicapra pyrenaica Bonaparte, 1845,
Pyrenees.
The classification of Rupicapra is unsettled. Rupicaprine ancestors probably originated in Asia and spread to Europe during the Middle Pleistocene prior to the Riss Glaciation. Ice sheets during glacial maxima in the Alps and Pyreneesisolated chamois populations, resulting in genetic differentiation, but during climatic oscillations, there were population contractions, expansions, and hybridization. The Pyrenean Chamois is genetically related to the Abruzzi Chamois (R. ornata) and the Cantabrian Chamois (R. parva). Monotypic.
Distribution. Pyrenees Mts in S France, Andorra, and NE Spain.
Descriptive notes. Head—body 105-120 cm, tail 3-4 cm, shoulder height 70-80 cm; weight 23-35 kg (males) and 20-32 kg (females). Horn length 17-28 cm (males), horn basal girth 6-9 cm (males). Horns of males have a greater horn basal girth. The tips of the horns hook sharply backward and downward. General body color of the Pyrenean Chamois is dark brown in winter. A dark mid-dorsal stripe is present. Top of head and throat are paler in color, as are the shoulders, back of the lower neck, and rump. A dark stripe extends from the base of the horns to the eyes and muzzle. Diploid chromosome numberis 58.
Habitat. The Pyrenean Chamois occurs at elevations of 1000-2800 m on or near steep rocky terrain in alpine and subalpine zones, principally ecotones between forested habitats and montane meadows. In summer, they usually seek the highest meadows to avoid domestic livestock and seem to prefer open habitats where availability of forbs and graminoids is greater. In one studysite, chamois entered forested areas to spend the night. They descend to forested habitats in winter. Groups preferred elevations of 2100-2300 m in June and of 1700-2100 m in November, avoiding elevations higher than 2300 m. Mean groupsize in forested habitats was 2-27 and 5-88 in open habitats. In the south-western Pyrenees in Spain, chamois occurred principally in mountain pine forests and clearcuts and rarely in beech (Fagus sylvatica) and fir (Abies alba) forests. In summer, upper pastures were occupied by livestock. Predators are golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and occasionally Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes), but mortality due to predation is not significant because of scarcity of large carnivores. Major mortalities can occur due to infections of keratoconjunctivitis and other pathogens.
Food and Feeding. The Pyrenean Chamois eats primarily graminoids and forbs in summer and browse in winter. Females tend to favor forbs. Browse in winter can constitute as much as 72% of diets and graminoids in summer up to 66-4%.
Breeding. Males form harems. Mating is in November-December. Parturition occurs in May-June. Gestation lasts 165-175 days. Twinning has not been recorded. Females first give birth at age 2-3; 77% of females reproduced at age two; 80% of three-yearolds reproduced; 96% between four and eleven years reproduced in any one year. Only 77% of females older than twelve years of age gave birth in any one year. Prime age of reproduction of females is 4-11 years. Summer kid—female ratios can be as high as 72 kids:100 females. Longevity is about 16 years for females and eleven years for males. During the parturition period in the south-western Pyrenees in Spain, females were concentrated at elevations of 1600-2000 m. None were found below 1500 m or above 2000 m. During the mating period, most were located below 1800 m.
Activity patterns. The Pyrenean Chamois is usually diurnal and most active during mornings and afternoons during summer. In a study area where they occurred with domestic sheep, herds of female chamois with kids primarily foraged in the morning and evening and rested at midday. Domestic sheep foraged mainly during the afternoon and at lower elevation than chamois. Sheep and chamois herds grazed at a mean distance of 250 m, usually resulting in spatial and temporal separation of the two species.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Seasonal movements of Pyrenean Chamois occur from lower-elevation forests in winter to higher in summer, sometimes exceeding 7 km and with an elevation displacement of 600 m. Some populations are sedentary. Densities can exceed 25 ind/km®. Groups of 20 or more individuals were more common than smaller groups in November at elevations of greater than 2100 m. Mean annual group size was 2:75 with extremes of 1-40. In a dense chamois population (14 ind/km?) in the western Pyrenees in France, over one-half were in groups of 25 and one-third were in groups of more than 50, with a maximum number observed in a single group of 208. The large herds consisted of nursery groups. Mean group size was 11-7, in November mean group size was 8-2; the largest group observed was 82. There was a high rate of interchange of individuals between herds. Males were seldom alone. In June, the majority of males were found in unisexual groups with a mean size offive.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as R. p. pyrenaica). Populations are increasing and are strictly protected in several nature reserves, including national parks. About 50,000 occur in Spain and 25,000 in France. Potential competition with domestic livestock is a major concern in some areas. Regulated, sustainable hunting is permitted, with a combined total of about 2000 Pyrenean and Cantabrian Chamois harvested in Spain and about 2600 Pyrenean Chamois,less than 10% of the censused population, harvested in France. Major concerns include outbreaks of keratoconjunctivitis and recently pestivirus. Management objectives and programs between France and Spain should be coordinated. Population monitoring and research are essential in hunted populations.
Bibliography. Apollonio, Andersen & Putman (2010), Berducou & Obusses (1985), Cabrera (1914), Carranza (2010), Corlatti et al. (2011), Couturier (1938), Garcia-Gonzélez & Cuartas (1996), Garcia-Gonzéalez & Herrero (2007), Garcia-Gonzélez et al. (1992), Garin & Herrero (1997), Giacometti et al. (1997), Gonzalez (1985), Groves & Grubb (2011), Grubb (2005), Herrero, Garin et al. (1996), Herrero, Lovari & Berducou (2008), Loison, Appolinaire et al. (2006), Loison, Festa-Bianchet et al. (1999), Loison, Gaillard et al. (1996), Loison, Toigo, Appolinaire & Michallet (2002), Loison, Toigo & Gaillard (2003), Maillard et al. (2010), Masini & Lovari (1988), Nascetti et al. (1985), Pépin & N'Da (1992), Pépin, Lamerenx & Chadelaud (1996), Pépin, Menaut, Desneux & Cargnelutti (1992), Pérez-Barberia & Pérez-Fernandez (2009), Pérez-Barberia et al. (2010), Rodriguez et al. (2009), Scala & Lovari (1984), Simpson & Epley (2002).
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 page 697, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6512484