Caprinae (chamois, goats, serows, sheep, gorals, tahrs)
There are 36 species in this subfamily of medium-sized ungulates (hoofed animals.) They are found in mountainous regions of Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. They are stocky animals and sure-footed, which helps when you live in the mountains! |
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World Status Key
 Least Concern  Near Threatened  Vulnerable  Endangered  Critically Endangered  Extinct in the Wild  Extinct
Status and range is taken from ICUN Redlist. If no status is listed, there is not enough data to establish status.
US Status Key
 Threatened in US  Threatened in NH  Endangered in US  Endangered in NH  Breeds in NH  Introduced
Status taken from US Fish and Wildlife and NH Fish and Game
Additional Information
Key:  Profile  Photos  Video  Audio
Goat & Sheep
How do you tell the difference between a goat and a sheep? Look for the beard! Most male goats have beards and most male sheep don't!
Source: San Diego Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Goats
Goats were among the first animals domesticated.
Source: National Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Barbary Sheep - Ammotragus lervia 
The Barbary sheep is the only species of wild sheep in Africa.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Barbary Sheep - Ammotragus lervia
Barbary sheep are also called aoudads.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Takin - Budorcas taxicolor 
It's not a goat, it's not an antelope, it's a takin!
Source: San Diego Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Takin - Budorcas taxicolor
The takin has a stocky body and a large head with an arched Roman nose.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Takin - Budorcas taxicolor
The takin’s short legs have large hooves with two toes and a well-developed spur which makes them sure-footed even on treacherous cliffs.
Source: Los Angeles Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Takin - Budorcas taxicolor
The takin has a thick coat of dark, shaggy fur that helps keep it warm in the winter.
Source: Cincinnati Zoo Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Takin - Budorcas taxicolor
The male takin can weigh over 800 pounds, the female weighs around 500 pounds.
Source: St. Louis Zoo Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
 Takin - Budorcas taxicolor
The takin's nearest relative is the arctic musk ox.
Source: PBS The Living Edens Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Alpine Ibex - Capra ibex 
Ibex are found found in central Europe south to northern Ethiopia and east to Central China.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Nubian Ibex - Capra nubiana
The male Nubian ibex has long, delicate, backward-arching horns.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Nubian Ibex - Capra nubiana
The Nubian ibex has suction-like hoofs that help it climb rocky cliffs.
Source: Los Angeles Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Nubian Ibex - Capra nubiana
The nubian ibex was once widespread in the mountainous regions of northeastern Africa and the Middle East. It is now found in isolated populations in the coastal regions of northeastern Africa, the Sinai Peninsula, and the southeastern tip and western portion of the Arabian Peninsula.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Spanish Ibex - Capra pyrenaica
The Spanish ibex is found in the Carzorla-Segura and Eastern Sierra Nevada mountain ranges on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Spanish Ibex - Capra pyrenaica
The Spanish ibex lives in the mountains, usually above 2,000 feet.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Siberian Ibex - Capra sibirica
The Siberian ibex is found in mountain ranges throughout central Asia, as far north as southern Siberia.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Walia Ibex - Capra walie
The Walia ibex has a chestnut brown coat and is pale gray on its legs, chest, and rump.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Walia Ibex - Capra walie
The Walia Ibex is only found in the mountains of northern Ethiopia.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Markhor - Capra falconeri
Markhors are found in the arid and steppe regions of the western Himalayas.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Markhor - Capra falconeri 
Both the male and female Markhor have unusual, wide corkscrew-like horns.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
West Caucasian Tur - Capra caucasica
West Caucasian turs are native only to the western Caucasus Mountains in Georgia and south-western Russia.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Japanese Serow - Capricornis crispus
Japanese serows have thick, shaggy, mottled brown and white coats. Both the male and female have backwards-curving horns.
Source: Los Angeles Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Japanese Serow - Capricornis crispus
The Japanese serow marks its territory by rubbing trees and rocks with secretions from scent glands below its eyes and on its hooves.
Source: Animal Planet Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Japanese Serow - Capricornis crispus
Japanese serows are found on the Japanese islands of Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Arabian Tahr - Arabitragus jayakari
The Arabian tahr is the smallest of all tahr species.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Arabian Tahr - Arabitragus jayakari
Arabian tahrs are found in the Hajar Mountains of the United Arab Emirates and the northern parts of Oman.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Himalayan Tahr - Hemitragus jemlahicus
The Himalayan tahr has a thick, woolly, reddish to dark brown coat with a thick undercoat that helps keep it warm in the winter.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Himalayan Tahr - Hemitragus jemlahicus
Himalayan tahrs have relatively short legs and small heads with large eyes and small pointed ears.
Source: Akron Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Himalayan Tahr - Hemitragus jemlahicus
Himalayan tahrs are native to the southern flanks of the Himalayan Mountains from northern India east to Bhutan, as far north as Tibet.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Nilgiri Tahr - Nilgiritragus hylocrius
Male Nilgiri tahrs are dark brown and females are gray.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Nilgiri Tahr - Nilgiritragus hylocrius
The Nilgiri tahr is found in the Western Ghats Mountains in south India.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Chinese Goral - Naemorhedus griseus
The Chinese goral lives in the steep slopes of wooded mountains in east-central China.
Source: Los Angeles Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Himalayan Goral - Naemorhedus goral
Himalayan gorals range throughout the Himalayas from Bhutan to Pakistan.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Himalayan Goral - Naemorhedus goral
Himalayan gorals can be found at elevations of 3,000 to 13,000 feet.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Long-tailed Goral - Naemorhedus caudatus
The long-tailed goral is found in the mountain ranges of eastern and northern Asia, including eastern Russia, northeastern China, and Korea.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Mountain Goat - Oreamnos americanus 
Mountain Goats are about three and a half feet tall at the shoulder, and weigh between 150 and 220 pounds. Learn more about mountain goats, watch a show for kids about them, and test your mountain goat knowledge with a quiz.
Source: Idaho Public Television Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary School
Mountain Goat - Oreamnos americanus
Mountain goats have long, thick coats that keep them warm!
Source: National Geographic Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Mountain Goat - Oreamnos americanus
The mountain goat has white fur that helps it blend in with its environment.
Source: Oregon Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Mountain Goat - Oreamnos americanus
Mountain goats are found from southeast Alaska to Washington, western Montana, and central Idaho.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Musk Ox - Ovibos moschatus
The musk ox is a circumpolar species native to Canada, Greenland, and up until the late 1800's, Alaska. It was reintroduced to Alaska in the 1930's. Musk ox have also been introduced into Russia, Svalbard, Norway, and Siberia.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Musk Ox - Ovibos moschatus
Musk Ox have long, shaggy brown fur that helps keep them warm.
Source: Enchanted Learning Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary School
Argali - Ovis ammon
The Argali is the largest species of wild sheep.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Argali - Ovis ammon
Argali sheep are found in mountainous areas in central Asia.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis
In winter, bighorn herds move to lower-elevation mountain pastures.
Source: National Geographic Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis
Bighorn sheep are found in the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada to Colorado.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis
Bighorn sheep have light brown fur with a whitish rump.
Source: Elmwood Park Zoo Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Middle School
Desert Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis nelsoni
The desert bighorn sheep is a subspecies of the bighorn sheep. It is found on grassy mountain slopes, alpine meadows, and foothill country from Nevada and California to west Texas and south into Baja California.
Source: Los Angeles Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Desert Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis nelsoni
Desert bighorn sheep live in groups made up of ewes, lambs, and a few rams.
Source: Utah's Hogle Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Desert Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis nelsoni
Desert bighorn sheep can move over level ground at 30 miles per hour and scramble up mountain slopes at 15 mph.
Source: Joshua Tree National Park Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School
Dall's Sheep - Ovis dalli
Dall's sheep are found above timberline on ridges, dry meadows, and steep mountain slopes.
Source: Arctic Wildlife Refuge Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Dall's Sheep - Ovis dalli
Dall's sheep are found throughout the mountain ranges of northeast, central and southern Alaska, as well as in the Yukon Territory, the northwest corner of British Columbia , and southwest of the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Dall's Sheep - Ovis dalli
Dall's sheep have rough pads on the bottom of their hooves that help them keep their footing on the rocks!
Source: Enchanted Learning Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary School Searchable: N o
Mouflon - Ovis orientalis
Mouflon or wild sheep are found throughout various countries in central Asia, from Turkey in the west, to Pakistan in the east.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Tibetan Antelope - Pantholops hodgsonii
The Tibetan antelope is known for having the finest and warmest wool in the animal kingdom. Learn more!
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Tibetan Antelope - Pantholops hodgsonii
The Tibetan antelope is found in the remote Chang Tang area of north-western Tibet. A small number occur seasonally in northeast Ladakh, in the extreme north of India
Source: WWF Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Tibetan Antelope - Pantholops hodgsonii
The Tibetan antelope live on plateau steppes at elevations from 11,000 to 18,000 feet.
Source: National Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Tibetan Antelope - Pantholops hodgsonii
The Tibetan antelope is also known as the chiru.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Bharal - Pseudois nayaur
Bharals are found across the Tibetan Plateau in China, Pakistan, Nepal, and India.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Bharal - Pseudois nayaur
Bharals are also know as Himalayan blue sheep, but they look more like goats!
Source: PBS Living Edens Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Northern Chamois - Rupicapra rupicapra
The chamois has broad dark stripes running from its eyes to its muzzle.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Northern Chamois - Rupicapra rupicapra
The chamois is found in the Pyrenees, the mountains of south and central Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus in Asia.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
Pyrenean Chamois - Rupicapra pyrenaica
The Pyrenean chamois is found in the mountains of northwestern Spain, the Pyrenees, and the Apennines of central Italy.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School
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Australia/Oceania 
South America 
NH Species