Wild goat

The wild goat (Capra aegagrus) is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by destruction and degradation of habitat.

It is thought to be the ancestor of the domestic goat (C. hircus).

Capra aegagrus was the first scientific name proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777 for the wild goat populations of the Caucasus and Taurus Mountains. Capra blythi (proposed by Allan Octavian Hume in 1874) was given to wild goat horns found from Sindh.

Both the Bezoar ibex (C. a. aegagrus) and the Sindh ibex (C. a. blythi) are considered to be valid subspecies of the wild goat. There is debate as to whether or not the Chiltan ibex (C. a. chialtanensis). Though it was initially thought to be a distinct subspecies, it is now considered a variant of the wild goat, with some scientists suggesting it may be a hybrid with markhor.

The Cretan goat (formerly C. a. pictus), or kri-kri, was once thought to be a subspecies of wild goat, but is now considered to be a feral descendant of the domestic goat (Capra hircus), now known as Capra hircus cretica.

In Turkey, the wild goat occurs in the Aegean, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Southeastern and the Eastern Anatolia Regions up to 3,250 m (10,660 ft) in the Taurus and Anti-Taurus Mountains.

In the Caucasus, it inhabits montane forests in the river basins of Andi Koysu and its tributaries in Dagestan, Chechnya and Georgia up to 2,700 m (8,900 ft).

In Armenia, wild goats were recorded in the Zangezur Mountains, in Khosrov State Reserve, and in highlands of the Syunik Province during field surveys from 2006 to 2007. In Azerbaijan, wild goats occur in Ordubad National Park, Daralayaz and Murovdag mountain areas in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. In Iran's Haftad Gholleh Protected Area, wild goat herds live foremost in west-facing areas with rocky substrates, water sources and steep slopes that are far from roads. In Turkmenistan, wild goat populations inhabit the mountain ranges of Uly Balkan and Kopet Dag. In Pakistan, wild goat herds occur in Kirthar National Park.