Overview
It is the largest subspecies of chamois in terms of both body and horn size. The short summer coat is reddish or pale brown. The winter coat of long guard hairs over thick underfur is a dark shade of brown. The underparts are pale, the rump is white. Throat, lower jaw, front of face and inside of ears are white, and there is a dark mask from ear to muzzle. Both sexes grow short, slim black horns that are round in cross section and hook sharply backward near the tips. The female's horns can be longer than the male's, but are slimmer and sometimes lack the hooks. More information is needed on the distinguishing physical characteristics of this subspecies.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Rupicapra
- Species
- Rupicapra rupicapra
Habitat
They live at moderately high altitudes and are adapted to living in precipitous rocky terrain. Distribution- Romania, in the Carpathian Mountains and Transylvanian Alps.
Diet
Grasses year-round with an increase in the proportion of dwarf shrubs in winter.
Behavior
This is a graceful and agile mountain animal. Chamois usually use speed to escape predators and can run at 31 mph (50 km/hr) and jump 6.6 ft (2 m) vertically into the air or over a distance of 20 ft (6 m). They are gregarious, living in herds of up to 20-30 animals. Older males are usually solitary except during the rut in May-June when they join the females. Chamois are diurnal, feeding early and late, with the middle part of the day spent resting. A sentinel (usually a female) is posted to watch for danger, and will warn the others with shrill whistles.
Hunting
It is best to hunt chamois from above, as their natural instinct is to scan for danger from below.
Conservation Status
Numbers estimated at 9,000 (1990) and increasing.