Crete Wild Goat
(Capra aegagrus cretica)
Facts
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IUCN VULNERABLE (VU)
Facts about this animal
The size and body mass of bezoar goats varies considerably depending of the region of origin/subspecies. While males from Iran may reach a body-weight of 90 kg, and females half as much, the body-weight of male Crete wild goats is reported to range from 26-42 kg.
Males have much longer horns than females (up to 126 cm) and their coat is more colourful.
Did you know?
why the Crete wild goat is also called "bezoar goat"? This is because in the stomach of the wild goat (and also in ibexes) one often finds "bezoars", i.e. balls of swallowed foreign material (usually hair or fiber) that collects in the stomach and fails to pass through the intestines. In oriental medicine and, in former times, also in Europe medicinal properties were ascribed to bezoars.
| Factsheet | |
|---|---|
| Class | MAMMALIA |
| Order | ARTIODACTYLA |
| Suborder | RUMINANTIA |
| Family | BOVIDAE |
| Name (Scientific) | Capra aegagrus cretica |
| Name (English) | Crete Wild Goat |
| Name (French) | Chèvre sauvage de Crète |
| Name (German) | Kretische Wildziege |
| Name (Spanish) | Cabra salvaje Cretan |
| Local names | Kri-kri (Greek), Bezoar |
| CITES Status | Not listed |
| CMS Status | Not listed |
Photo Copyright by
M. Tiedemann
Distribution
| Distribution | |
|---|---|
| Range | Greece (Crete, Dia, Thodorou and Agii Pandes) |
| Habitat | Mountainous regions |
| Wild population | Unknown, decreasing (Red List IUCN 2011) |
| Zoo population | 102 reported to ISIS |
In the Zoo
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How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 73 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
Find this animal on ZooLex
Photo Copyright by
Alex Sliwa
Why do zoos keep this animal
The bezoar goat is the ancestor of the domestic goat, and displaying them to the public is therefore of major educational interest. European zoos keep bezoar goats also as an element of the European fauna, which will be seen in the wild only by very few people.