Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artidactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Genus: Rupicapra
Species: Rupicapra
The chamois looks like a cross between a goat and a deer. They are a very common animal all over Europe and western Asia. They live in the mountains of Europe and can be found in the Pyrenees and the Alps. Because they live in very rocky and unstable habitats, the chamois are excellent at jumping and are very graceful. They can leap 6 ½ feet vertically and as far as 20 feet horizontally. They do this all very quickly and quietly. They use their amazing jumping skills and speed among the rocky cliffs to avoid predators such as lynxes, wolves, bears and even golden eagles.
• They are herbivores
• They often forage at night
• Females live in herds of up to 100
• Males live alone or there may be one male in a herd of females
• Their fur is brown in summer and light grey in winter
• Males and females have short horns that hook backward at the tip
• Male’s horns are larger
• Females are called does
• Males are called bucks
• They often live high in the mountains in the summer and lower in the winter
• They are classified as a species of least concern, this means they are not in danger of extinction
• They have white marks on the side of their heads and dark black stripes beneath their eyes
• They are highly prized for their soft leather
One subspecies of chamois lives in New Zealand. They are not native to the island. They were brought as a gift in 1907 from Franz Joseph I the Emperor of Austria. Six does and two bucks were given to the island nation in exchange for other specimens that would go back to Austria. The animals were
released at Mount Cook and over the years they spread over the South Island.
