Wild Sheep And Goats And Their Relatives

Wild caprinae, including sheep and goats, are an extremely valuable group of mammals. While most live in mountains, some inhabit desert grasslands, tropical forests or even arctic tundra. They range in size from the 30kg goral to the 350kg musk ox and display a variety of horn shapes and sizes as well as coat and body coloration. They are highly prized by hunters on account of their horns and their coats. Today, despite their important domestic relations, many wild caprinae are in danger of being lost forever: over 70 of caprinae taxa are threatened and over 30 endangered or critical. The main threats to them are over-harvesting, habitat loss and resource competition from livestock. Some face an additional threat from trophy hunters. Despite this, however, conservation legislation is either absent or, more often, poorly enforced. This action plan explores the value of caprinae to biodiversity, the threats facing the members of the species, and makes recommendations to reverse current trends. It also emphasizes the importance to carpinae conservation and survival of close collaboration among all parties involved in wildlife conservation including local peoples and hunting organizations, governments, scientists and academic institutions.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XIII TYPICAL WILD SHEEP OF ASIA AND AMERICA As wild sheep form the subject of several works 1 and numerous articles in scientific journals, they are discussed much less fully in the present volume than the domesticated breeds, of which the account given in the preceding chapters is claimed to be unique. In Asia wild sheep inhabit the Troodos mountains of Cyprus, and the more or less continuous mountain-chains extending from Anatolia on the extreme west of Asia Minor, through Armenia, Persia, Baluchistan, the north-west frontier districts of India, Afghanistan, Bokhara, Turkestan, the Altai, the Pamirs, the Himalaya, Tibet, the Tian Shan, and Mongolia to the Yana and Kamchatka in the extreme north-east. On the American side of Bering Strait they reappear in Alaska, whence they range southwards through the chain of the Rocky Mountains to the highlands of Mexico. 'E.g. Wild Oxen, Sheep, and Goats, by the present writer, London, 1908. The classification of the sheep there given is somewhat out of date, and an amended scheme, likewise by the present writer, will be found in the sixth edition of Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game, London, 1911. 35a Their most western representative is the red sheep or red mouflon of Cyprus, Asia Minor, and Persia. On the frontiers of the last-named country and Turkestan we enter the domain of the urial or shapo, which extends into the Himalaya; Central Asia is the home of the argalis, the biggest and finest representatives of the whole group; while in the neighbourhood of the Yana and in Kamchatka we encounter the bighorns, which reappear in North America, where they are the sole wild representatives of their kind. The central Himalaya and Tibet form the home of the aberrant bharal or blue sheep, which...

Mountain goats have been among the least studied of North American ungulates, leaving wildlife managers with little information on which to base harvest strategies or conservation plans. This book offers the first comprehensive assessment of the ecology and behavior of mountain goats, setting forth the results of a remarkable 16-year longitudinal study of more than 300 marked individuals in a population in Alberta, Canada. The authors’ thorough, long-term study allowed them to draw important conclusions about mountain goat ecology—including individual reproductive strategies, population dynamics, and sensitivity to human disturbance—and to use those conclusions in offering guidance for developing effective conservation strategies. Chapters examine: -habitat use, vegetation quality, and seasonal movements -sexual segregation and social organization -individual variability in yearly and lifetime reproductive success of females -age- and sex-specific survival and dispersal -reproductive strategies and population dynamics -management and conservation of mountain goats The book also draws on the rich literature on long-term monitoring of marked ungulates to explore similarities and differences between mountain goats and other species, particularly bighorn sheep and ibex. By monitoring a marked population over a long period of time, researchers were able to document changes in sex-age structure and identify factors driving population dynamics. Because it explores the links between individual life-history strategy and population dynamics in a natural setting, Mountain Goats will be an invaluable resource for wildlife managers, researchers in ecology and animal behavior, conservationists, population biologists, and anyone concerned with the ecology and management of natural populations, especially in alpine environments.

The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals is the only definitive reference on all the land-breeding mammals recorded in the New Zealand region (including the New Zealand sector of Antarctica). It lists 65 species, including native and exotic, wild and feral, living and extinct, residents, vagrants and failed introductions. It describes their history, biology and ecology, and brings together comprehensive and detailed information gathered from widely scattered or previously unpublished sources. The description of each species is arranged under standardised headings for easy reference. Because the only native land-breeding mammals in New Zealand are bats and seals, the great majority of the modern mammal fauna comprises introduced species, whose arrival has had profound effects both for themselves and for the native fauna and flora. The book details changes in numbers and distribution for the native species, and for the arrivals it summarises changes in habitat, diet, numbers and size in comparison with their ancestral stocks, and some of the problems they present to resource managers. For this third edition, the text and references have been completely updated and reorganised into Family chapters. The colour section includes 14 pages of artwork showing all the species described and their main variations, plus two pages of maps.

Animal Science Annual Volume 2023 explores primary research and review papers covering a broad spectrum of topics such as ecology, physiology, anatomy, health, and animal welfare. This volume features five chapters, each providing new insights into relevant areas of study within Animal Science. Topics covered include the ecology of ungulates in the Himalayas, the anatomy of the goat alimentary system, protein misfolding diseases in animals, the study of fossilized horse trackways, and the role of dopamine receptors in olfaction learning success in bees. Animal Science Annual Volume 2023 will serve as a valuable resource for researchers and educators worldwide.

While they come in all shapes, textures, and sizes, animals that subsist on the Earths natural vegetation share many common elements as well. Occupying a unique place in the food chain, grazers all over the Earth provide vital nourishment for carnivores and are often valuable to humans for meat, skins, and various domestic uses. This volume provides a colorful view of these varied and complex creatures as well as the features and behaviors that both bind them together and set them apart.

From “Three Billy Goats Gruff” to The Men Who Stare at Goats, this inimitable ruminant has long played a role in our literature and popular culture. And yet, our relationship with the “poor man’s cow” is oddly ambivalent. In the beautifully illustrated Goat, Joy Hinson explores the reason behind this unease while presenting readers with the animal’s fascinating natural history and its effect on myth, medicine, and culture. Hinson traces the history of goats from their evolution millions of years ago through their domestication and role in the modern world. She delves into our interaction with endangered wild goat species and the familiar farmyard goat, and she reveals the harm done by humans in indiscriminately importing tamed goats, leading to huge feral populations in Australia and on the Galapagos Islands. Hinson also considers the place of goat products in culinary and medical traditions, from the pouring of goat urine into the ear as a cure for neck pain to the belief that a goat’s bezoar stone can be used as an antidote for poison. From Goat Festivals in the United States to the Christmas Goat in Sweden, Goat takes readers on an exciting ride through this frequently neglected animal’s history, life, and role in today’s world.