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Species
Rupicapra rupicapra (Linnaeus, 1758)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
This species provides food for two interesting predators, the eurasian lynx and the wolf. As a grazer, it also affects the plant community within its habitat.
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With the exception of the Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra), many other subspecies of the chamois are rare and many populations are declining (4). Such declines are due to a combination of factors. The flesh of chamois is prized by some people, the skin is made into shammy leather for cleaning glass and polishing cars, and winter hair from the back is used to make 'gamsbart', the brush of Tyrolean hats (2). This has led, in some areas, to excessive hunting (2), and poaching remains a threat to many populations, particularly outside of protected areas (4). Habitat loss is impacting some subspecies, such as in Albania where suitable habitat is being lost to expanding human populations, as is competition with domestic livestock. Hybridisation with the Alpine chamois poses a threat to a number of the subspecies and sarcoptic mange (a skin disease) is also a problem in some regions (4). The two Critically Endangered subspecies, the Chartreuse chamois (R. r. cartusiana) and the Tatra chamois (R. r. tatrica) face many of the threats mentioned above, which are compounded by their small populations and limited distribution. The Chartreuse chamois is restricted to a 350 square kilometre area of the Chartreuse massif, at the western edge of French Alps, where an official census in 1986-87 estimated the population to consist of a minimum of 150 individuals. Only two populations of the Tatra chamois remain; one in the Tatra National Park, Poland and Slovakia, and another introduced population occurs in the Low Tatra National Park, Slovakia. Such small populations are vulnerable to natural disasters, disease, and a loss of genetic diversity (4).
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Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/chamois/rupicapra-rupicapra/ |
Eurasian lynx and wolves are the main predator of the chamois. (Gortazar, 2000). They are also hunted by humans. When alarmed, these animals flee to inaccesible locations. They can travel at speeds of up to 50 km per hour. They can jump 2 meters into the air, and a distance of up to 6 meters. (Nowak, 1999)
Known Predators:
- Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx)
- gray wolves (Canis lupus)
- humans (Homo sapiens)
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Conservation Actions
To protect the High Tatras subspecies, Jurdkov (2000) recommends reducing illegal hunting (by closing and guarding parts of the western Tatra mountains). R. r. rupicapra introduced into Slovakia (e.g. the Lower Tatras National Park) should be removed as they pose a threat to the wild population of R. r. tatrica (Shackleton 1997).
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Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/39255 |
Rupicapra rupicapra is prey of:
Homo sapiens
Lynx lynx
Canis lupus
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 16, 2011 at http://animaldiversity.org. http://www.animaldiversity.org
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Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
While the chamois is, as a species, still common, a number of the subspecies are threatened and require conservation action. The Chartreuse chamois has, since 1972, been the focus of conservation measures, beginning with efforts to educate local hunters. The hunters formed a Chamois Management Unit and together implemented measures including a shooting moratorium, lasting several years, and limiting livestock grazing on upland pastures. The efforts were a success, with the population multiplying by five between 1985 and 1997, but the population still faces threats, particularly hybridisation with the Alpine chamois (5). The Critically Endangered Tatra chamois is protected by law in Poland and Slovakia, and occurs solely within two national parks, each of which includes an area in which public access is strictly controlled to eliminate any disturbance during winter and during the birth season. Control of sheep grazing in Tatra National Park led to an increase in population numbers, but more recently numbers have again declined, possibly due to poor weather conditions and poaching (4). Although not so greatly threatened, the other five subspecies are subject to varying hunting laws and legal protection, occur in numerous protected areas, and some, such as the Balkan chamois and Carpathian chamois, have been successfully introduced to further areas (4).
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Source | http://www.arkive.org/chamois/rupicapra-rupicapra/ |
Rupicapra rupicapra preys on:
Bryophyta
lichens
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 16, 2011 at http://animaldiversity.org. http://www.animaldiversity.org
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Chamois compete with domestic sheep for grazing. (Gortazar, 2000)
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Rupicapra_rupicapra/ |
The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the Pyrenees, the European Alps, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand. Some subspecies of chamois are strictly protected in the EU under the European Habitats Directive.[2]
Contents
Names[edit]
The English name comes from French chamois. This is derived from Gaulish camox (attested in Latin, 5th century), itself perhaps a borrowing from some Alpine language (Raetic, Ligurian). The Gaulish form also underlies German Gemse, Gams, Gämse and Italian Camoscio, in Cadore, Northern Veneto is called "ciamorza".
The usual pronunciation for the animal is UK /ˈʃæmwɑː/ or US /ʃæmˈwɑː/, approximating the French pronunciation [ʃaˈmwa]. However, when referring to chamois leather, and in New Zealand often for the animal itself, it is /ˈʃæmi/, and sometimes spelt "shammy" or "chamy". The plural of "chamois" is spelled the same as the singular, and it may be pronounced with the final "s" sounded: /ˈʃæmwɑːz/, /ʃæmˈwɑːz/, /ˈʃæmiz/. However, as with many other quarry species, the plural for the animal is often pronounced the same as the singular.
The Dutch name for the chamois is gems, and the male is called a gemsbok. In Afrikaans, the name "gemsbok" came to refer to a species of Subsaharan antelope of the genus Oryx, and this meaning of "gemsbok" has been adopted into English.
Taxonomy[edit]
There are two species of chamois in the genus Rupicapra: R. rupicapra and R. pyrenaica, which occurs in the Pyrenees (R. p. pyrenaica), Cantabrian mountains (R. p. parva, Cantabrian Chamois), and the Apennines (R. p. ornata). The chamois (along with sheep and goats) are in the goat-antelope subfamily (Caprinae) of the family Bovidae.
The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is categorized into several subspecies:
- R. r. rupicapra (Alpine chamois): Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia,[3]Slovakia (Veľká Fatra, Slovak Paradise)
- R. r. tatrica (Tatra chamois): Slovakia (Tatras and Low Tatras) and Poland (Tatras)
- R. r. balcanica (Balkan chamois): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, northern Greece (The Pindus Mountains),[4]Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia (isolated populations)[3]
- R. r. carpatica (Carpathian chamois): Romania
- R. r. cartusiana (Chartreuse chamois): France
- R. r. asiatica (Anatolian chamois or Turkish chamois): Turkey
- R. r. caucasica (Caucasian chamois): Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation
Description[edit]
The chamois is a mid-sized bovid. A fully grown chamois reaches a height of 70–80 cm (28–31 in) and measures 107–137 cm (42–54 in) (the tail is not generally visible except when defecating).[5] Males, which weigh 30–60 kg (66–132 lb), are slightly larger than females, which weigh 25–45 kg (55–99 lb).[5] Both males and females have short, straightish horns which are hooked backwards near the tip, the horn of the male being thicker. In summer, the fur has a rich brown colour which turns to a light grey in winter. Distinct characteristics are white contrasting marks on the sides of the head with pronounced black stripes below the eyes, a white rump and a black stripe along the back.
Biology and behaviour[edit]
Female chamois and their young live in herds of up to 100 individuals; adult males tend to live solitarily for most of the year. During the rut (late November/early December in Europe, May in New Zealand), males engage in fierce battles for the attention of unmated females. An impregnated female undergoes a gestation period of 170 days, after which a single kid is usually born in May or early June - on rare occasions, twins may be born.[5] If a mother is killed, other females in the herd may try to raise the kid.[6] The kid is weaned at six months of age and is fully grown by one year of age. However, the kids do not reach sexual maturity until they are three to four years old, although some females may mate at as early two years old.[5] At sexual maturity, young males are forced out of their mother's herds by dominant males (who sometimes kill them), and then wander somewhat nomadically until they can establish themselves as mature breeding specimens at eight to nine years of age.[6]
Chamois eat various types of vegetation, including highland grasses and herbs during the summer and conifers, barks and needles from trees in winter. Primarily diurnal in activity, they often rest around mid-day and may actively forage during moonlit nights.[5]
Chamois can reach an age of 22 years in captivity, although the maximum recorded in the wild is from 15 to 17 years of age. Common causes of mortality can include avalanches, epidemics and predation. At present, humans are the main predator of Chamois. In the past, the principal predators were Eurasian lynxes and gray wolves; with some predation possibly by brown bears and golden eagles.[5] Chamois usually use speed and stealthy evasion to escape predators and can run at 50 kilometers per hour (31 mph) and can jump 2 m (6.6 ft) vertically into the air or over a distance of 6 m (20 ft).[6]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
Chamois are naturally distributed in the Pyrenees, the mountains of south and central Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus in Asia. They live at moderately high altitudes and are adapted to living in precipitous, rugged, rocky terrain. They can be found at elevations of at least 3,600 m (11,800 ft). In Europe, Chamois spend their summers above the tree line in meadows. When winter rolls around, they go to lower elevations, of around 800 m (2,600 ft), to live in forests, mainly in areas dominated by pines.
Chamois in New Zealand[edit]
Alpine chamois arrived in New Zealand in 1907 as a gift from the Austrian Emperor, Franz Joseph I in exchange for specimens of living ferns, rare birds and lizards. Mr Albert E.L. Bertling, formerly head keeper of the Zoological Society's Gardens, Regents Park, London, accepted an invitation from the New Zealand Government to deliver a consignment of chamois (two bucks and six does) to the colony. They arrived in Wellington, New Zealand on the 23rd January, 1907 on board the "SS Turakina". From Wellington the chamois were transhipped to the "Manaroa" and conveyed to Lyttelton, then by rail to Fairlie in South Canterbury and a four day horse trek to Mount Cook. The first surviving releases were made in the Aoraki/Mount Cook region and these animals gradually spread over much of the South Island.[7][8]
In New Zealand, chamois hunting is unrestricted and even encouraged by the Department of Conservation to limit the animal's impact on New Zealand's native alpine flora.[8][9]
New Zealand chamois tend to weigh about 20% less than European individuals of the same age, suggesting that food supplies may be limited.[10]
Hunting and wildlife management[edit]
As their meat is considered tasty, chamois are popular game animals. Chamois have two traits that are exploited by hunters: the first is that they are most active in the morning and evening when they feed; the second is that they tend to look for danger from below, which means that a hunter stalking chamois from above is less likely to be observed and more likely to be successful.[11]
The tuft of hair from the back of the neck, the gamsbart (chamois "beard"), is traditionally worn as a decoration on hats throughout the alpine countries.
Chamois leather[edit]
Chamois leather, traditionally made from the hide of the chamois, is very smooth and absorbent and is favoured in cleaning, buffing, and polishing because it produces no scratching. Modern chamois leather may be made from chamois hides, but hides of deer or domestic goats or sheep are commonly used, and cotton flannel, PVA, and Viscos which have similar qualities, can be used as a fake-chamois fabric.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Aulagnier, S., Giannatos, G. & Herrero, J. (2008). Rupicapra rupicapra. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 April 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
- ^ Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora at EUR-Lex
- ^ a b Mineral Supply and Fertility of Chamois
- ^ Current status of the Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) in Greece : Implications for conservation at Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
- ^ a b c d e f Macdonald, D.W.; Barrett , P. (1993). Mammals of Europe. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09160-9.
- ^ a b c Dan Gunderson. "ADW: Rupicapra rupicapra: INFORMATION". Animal Diversity Web.
- ^ A Note on the Chamois in New Zealand at New Zealand Ecological Society
- ^ a b Recreational hunting in Nelson/Marlborough - Chamois at the Department of Conservation
- ^ Heritage Preservation (p. 40 and 45) at the Department of Conservation
- ^ "Trophy Chamois Buck Hunting New Zealand Free Range Safari Park Record Horns".
- ^ "Beginners Chamois Hunting Guide".
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Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chamois&oldid=655141540 |
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
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Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Rupicapra_rupicapra/ |