Wild Goat

The wild goat (Capra aegagrus) is a goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by habitat destruction and degradation. It is thought to be the ancestor of the domestic goat (C. hircus). == Taxonomy == Capra aegagrus was the first scientific name proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777 for the wild goat populations of the Caucasus and Taurus Mountains. Capra blythi proposed by Allan Octavian Hume in 1874 was given to wild goat horns found in Sindh. Both the Bezoar ibex (C. a. aegagrus) and the Sindh ibex (C. a. blythi) are considered to be valid wild goat subspecies. There is debate as to whether or not the Chiltan ibex (C. a. chialtanensis). Though it was initially thought to be a distinct subspecies, it is now considered a variant of the wild goat, with some scientists suggesting it may be a hybrid with markhor. The Cretan goat, formerly C. a. pictus, or kri-kri, was once thought to be a subspecies of wild goat, but…