| Pyrenean chamois | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Genus: | Rupicapra |
| Species: | R. pyrenaica |
| Binomial name | |
| Rupicapra pyrenaica (Bonaparte, 1845) | |
 | |
| Distribution of Pyrenean chamois | |
ThePyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) is agoat-antelope that lives in thePyrenees andCantabrian Mountains ofSpain,France andAndorra, and theApennine Mountains of centralItaly. It is one of the two species of the genusRupicapra, the other being thechamois,Rupicapra rupicapra.[1]
| Image | Subspecies | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
 | R. p. pyrenaica (Pyrenean chamois) | Andorra, France and Spain |
 | R. p. parva (Cantabrian chamois) | Spain |
 | R. p. ornata (Abruzzo chamois) | Central and southern Italy |
Up to 80 cm tall, its summer coat is a ruddy brown; in winter, it is black or brown, with darker patches around the eyes. Both males and females have backward-hookedhorns up to 20 cm in length. They browse ongrass,lichens and buds of trees.Sure-footed and agile, they are found on any elevation up to 3000 m.
Like other species of chamois, it was hunted almost toextinction, especially in the 1940s, for the production ofchamois leather. The population has since recovered, and in 2022 was estimated to be about 50,000 mature individuals.[2][1]
