Bezoar Ibex

Class: Mammals

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Bovidae

Weight: Up to 95 kg

Height: Up to 100 cm

Body length: Males 129-152 cm, females 100-110 cm

Color: Can be solid or a combination of two colors. The most common colors are brown, gray, white, and black.

Age of sexual maturity: Females reach sexual maturity at 1.5-2.5 years, males at 3.5-4 years.

Gestation period: About 5 months

Lifespan: 13-14 years

Habitat: The habitat of the bezoar ibex includes the Sevan mountain range, the western slopes of the Gegham mountains (Khosrov Reserve), the mountain ranges of Garni, Urts, Vardenis, Bargushat, Meghri, and the Noravank Gorge.

Diet: Grasses, mosses, leaves, flowers, lichens

Did you know?

• The name of this species comes from the bezoars found in their stomachs. Bezoars are balls of indigestible food. In ancient times, healers considered bezoars a unique remedy and used them as talismans. The word “bezoar” translates from Persian as “antidote.”
• The bezoar ibex is an ancestor of domestic goats. The first attempts to domesticate this species date back to the 6th century BC, and according to archaeological excavations, were made in the territory of modern-day Iran. Thus, all goats living in Europe today have a common Asian ancestor.