Markhor
| Markhor | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Male markhor in captivity at the Augsburg Zoo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Genus: | Capra |
| Species: | C. falconeri |
| Binomial name | |
|
Capra falconeri (Wagner, 1839) |
|
| Subspecies | |
|
See text |
|
See text
The markhor /ˈmɑːrkɔːr/ (Capra falconeri; Pashto: مرغومی marǧūmi; Persian/Urdu: مارخور) is a large species of wild goat that is found in northeastern Afghanistan, northern and central Pakistan, Kashmir in northern India, southern Tajikistan, southern Uzbekistan and in the Himalayas.
The species was classed by the IUCN as Endangered until 2015 when it was down listed to Near Threatened, as their numbers have increased in recent years by an estimated 20% for the last decade. The markhor is the national animal of Pakistan.
The colloquial name is thought by some to be derived from the Persian word mar, meaning snake, and khor, meaning "eater", which is sometimes interpreted to either represent the species' ability to kill snakes, or as a reference to its corkscrewing horns, which are somewhat reminiscent of coiling snakes.
...
Wikipedia