Nubian Ibex: Characteristics, Behavior and Reproduction | Middle East And North Africa

NUBIAN IBEX

Nubian ibex male

Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) are desert-dwelling goats in the Genus Capra found in mountainous areas of northern and northeast Africa, and the Middle East. For a long time they were considered to be a subspecies of the Alpine ibex (C. ibex), but is now considered a distinct species. There are believed to be around 4,500 adults in the wild. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List they are listed as Vulnerable. [Source: Wikipedia]

Nubia is the name a region along the Nile river encompassing the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the area between the first cataract of the Nile (south of Aswan in southern Egypt). It was the seat of one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Africa, the Kerma culture, which lasted from around 2500 B.C. to around 1500 B.C. Nubian ibex were first described by F. Cuvier in 1825 as a subspecies of Capra ibex, and synonyms for the species include C. arabica, C. beden, C. mengesi, and C. sinaitica. In 1987 Nubian ibex was formally recognized as a distinct species. [Source: Jan Tomsen, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Even they though they are rare and elusive, Nubian ibex have become tourism draws in some places. At the oasis of Engedi, on the Dead Sea, in Israel one group has become accustomed to humans, and males often predictably show up at a special watering hole to the delight of tourists. /=\

Nubian Ibex Habitat and Where They Are Found

Nubian ibex are the only ibex species adapted to life in very hot, arid regions. They were once widespread in the mountainous regions of northeastern Africa and the Middle East. Estimates of the full extent of their historic geographic range are based on ancient drawings and bone remnants. [Source: Jan Tomsen, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Nubian ibex female

Today, Nubian ibex occurs in isolated populations in pockets of the coastal regions of northeastern Africa, the Sinai Peninsula, and the southeastern tip and western portion of the Arabian Peninsula at elevations from sea level to 3000 meters (9843 feet) — in Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Sudan. They were extirpated in Lebanon and Syria, but a captive breeding and reintroduction program is underway Lebanon. There may be some in the mountains of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen.

Nubian ibex inhabit mountainous regions including gorges, outcrops, and scree areas in arid regions with sparse vegetation. They occur at varying elevations and tend be found on the most remote, highest, and steepest cliffs. Why do they live in such remote, unwelcoming environments. In rich, lush habitats, caprines (goats and sheep) are typically replaced by cervids and larger bovids. In Africa, gazelles dominate the drier open steppes and grasslands, pushing Caprinae into more difficult environments. In a controversial study Ropiquetet al. (2006) suggested that the common ancestor of wild goats arose from interspecific hybridization between ancestral goats (proto-Capra) and ancestral tahr (proto-Hemitragus). The product was a goat with a mitochondrial genome better adapted to high altitudes and arid habitats./=\

Nubian Ibex Characteristics

Nubian ibex are one of the smallest ibex species. They range in weight from 25 to 70 kilograms (55 to 154 pounds). They have a head and body length that ranges from 1.05 to 1,25 meters (3.6 to to 4.1 feet), The oldest known Nubian ibex lived 17 years in captivity but it is believed their lifespans in the wild are much shorter. Alpine ibex have been reported to live 10 to 16 years in the wild. [Source: Jan Tomsen, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present among Nubian ibex: Males are larger than females. Sexes are colored or patterned differently with the male being more colorful. Ornamentation is different. On average females are about one-third the size of males. Males have an average weight of 62.5 kilograms (138 pounds); females have an average weight of 26.5 kilograms (58 pounds). Shoulder height averages 75 centimeters (30 inches) in males and 65 centimeters (25.6 inches) in females. Total body length is 1.25 meters (4.1 feet) in males and 1.05 meters (3.6 feet) in females. /=\

Nubian ibex fur is mostly tan in color, which blends into their rocky, arid environment in which they live. They have patches of black and white on their legs and white undersides. Beginning in August, males undergo a color chnage in which they become dark brown to black on their necks, chests, shoulders, sides of the belly, front side of the thighs, and upper forelegs. Males have long dark beards, which are used for scent marking and are believed to be attractive to females during rutting. Older females also have beards. /=\

Both males and females have horns, which may be employed in fighting, sexual selection, and territorial defense. The horns of males are large, dark, and semi-circular, with annual rings on the back. The annuli (rings) grow twelve to twenty centimeters during the first five years of life, and then grow between two to four centimeters per year after that . The horns of some individuals may have shorter annuli as a result of physical hardship such as drought or disease. The horn length of males can reach 1.2 meters (4 feet), while that of females generally doesn’t exceed 35 centimeters (14 inches). /=\

Bovids

Range of wild goats (Capra species): Dark colours: present ranges; Light colours: historical ranges; From east to west:
1) Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica);
2) Markhor (Capra falconeri);
3) Wild goat (Capra aegagrus or Capra hircus aegagrus);
4) East Caucasian tur (Capra cylindricornis, or Capra caucasica cylindricornis);
5) West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica);
6) Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana);
7) Walia ibex (Capra walie)
8) Alpine ibex (Capra ibex);
9) Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica)

Wild goats and sheep are bovids. Bovids (Bovidae) are the largest of 10 extant families within Artiodactyla, consisting of more than 140 extant and 300 extinct species. According to Animal Diversity Web: Designation of subfamilies within Bovidae has been controversial and many experts disagree about whether Bovidae is monophyletic (group of organisms that evolved from a single common ancestor) or not. [Source: Whitney Gomez; Tamatha A. Patterson; Jonathon Swinton; John Berini, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Wild bovids can be found throughout Africa, much of Europe, Asia, and North America and characteristically inhabit grasslands. Their dentition, unguligrade limb morphology, and gastrointestinal specialization likely evolved as a result of their grazing lifestyle. All bovids have four-chambered, ruminating stomachs and at least one pair of horns, which are generally present on both sexes.

Bovid lifespans are highly variable. Some domesticated species have an average lifespan of 10 years with males living up to 28 years and females living up to 22 years. For example, domesticated goats can live up to 17 years but have an average lifespan of 12 years. Most wild bovids live between 10 and 15 years, with larger species tending to live longer. For instance, American bison can live for up to 25 years and gaur up to 30 years. In polygynous species, males often have a shorter lifespan than females. This is likely due to male-male competition and the solitary nature of sexually-dimorphic males resulting in increased vulnerability to predation. /=\

Ruminants

Cattle, sheep, goats, yaks, buffalo, deer, antelopes, giraffes, and their relatives are ruminants — cud-chewing mammals that have a distinctive digestive system designed to obtain nutrients from large amounts of nutrient-poor grass. Ruminants evolved about 20 million years ago in North America and migrated from there to Europe and Asia and to a lesser extent South America, where they never became widespread.

As ruminants evolved they rose up on their toes and developed long legs. Their side toes shrunk while their central toes strengthened and the nails developed into hooves, which are extremely durable and excellent shock absorbers.

Nubian ibex in Israel

Ruminants helped grasslands remain as grasslands and thus kept themselves adequately suppled with food. Grasses can withstand the heavy trampling of ruminants while young tree seedlings can not. The changing rain conditions of many grasslands has meant that the grass sprouts seasonally in different places and animals often make long journeys to find pastures. The ruminants hooves and large size allows them to make the journeys.

Describing a descendant of the first ruminates, David Attenborough wrote: deer move through the forest browsing in an unhurried confident way. In contrast the chevrotain feed quickly, collecting fallen fruit and leaves from low bushes and digest them immediately. They then retire to a secluded hiding place and then use a technique that, it seems, they were the first to pioneer. They ruminate. Clumps of their hastly gathered meals are retrieved from a front compartment in their stomach where they had been stored and brought back up the throat to be given a second more intensive chewing with the back teeth. With that done, the chevrotain swallows the lump again. This time it continues through the first chamber of the stomach and into a second where it is fermented into a broth. It is a technique that today is used by many species of grazing mammals.

Nubian Ibex Food, Eating Behavior and Predators

Nubian ibex are herbivores (eat plants or plants parts) and are also classified as folivores (eat leaves). Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, wood, bark, stems seeds, grains, and nuts flowers. In general, goats have a large range of foraging niches, with a generalized and adaptive diet. They often live in habitats with low primary productivity. Nubian ibex are expanding specialist feeders, which means that individuals forage selectively on plants of higher quality in large patches. [Source: Jan Tomsen, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Primarily due to heat, Nubian ibex tend to feed during the night or twilight hours, and occasionally during the day, often descending to lower elevations when feeding.. The main things they eat are herbs, shrubs, tree foliage (especially Acacia), buds, fruits, and occasionally grass. Nubian ibex are especially fond of cadaba (Cadaba spp.) and camphorweed (Pluchea spp.).They like to forage in patches of high quality vegetation and where water is nearby, drinking water every day if they can. /=\

Likely predators of Nubian ibex include leopards, wolves, striped hyenas and humans. Young ibex may be preyed on by golden eagles, eagle owls and perhaps foxes. Nubian ibex spend much of their time on cliffs and rock faces at least partly as a defense against predators. Living in a groups also has defensive advantages as one member of the group can alert others of potential dangers. Because the risk of predation of adult males is relatively low they can live in smaller groups. Grackles (Quiscalus sp.) are birds that groom Nubian ibex in a reciprocally beneficial act. They eat insects and parasites on skin of the ibexes.

Nubian Ibex Behavior

herd of Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) along a cliff by a highway in Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev desert of southern Israel

Nubian ibex are cursorial (with limbs adapted to running), terricolous (live on the ground), crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), territorial (defend an area within the home range), social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups), colonial (live together in groups or in close proximity to each other) and have dominance hierarchies (ranking systems or pecking orders among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates). [Source: Jan Tomsen, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Nubian ibex tend to live in groups. Most groups are dominated by either females or males which fight off encroaching members of the same sex. These group generally only have ranges of a few square kilometers, Males tend to disperse more than females. Studies have shown that females within a group are highly related to one another. Groups are sexually separated in part because of the need to separate feeding areas for nutritional demands and to find water sources./=\

During most of the year females and their young, as well as males under three years old live in isolated herds of ten to twenty individuals. Males over the age of three congregate in bachelor groups, displaying a marked system of dominance hierarchy. Throughout most of the year older males are solitary. They Males and females come together for the rutting season around October.

Nubian ibex are most active in the twilight period. Resting and ruminating occurs in the afternoon or at night. During the winter months, Nubian ibex seek shelter under rock outcroppings or in caves to avoid the cold, wind, or rain. They often hollow out shallow depressions in the ground in which to rest. Along the shores of the Dead Sea and on the Arabian Peninsula, temperatures may exceed 45 degrees Celsius. During hot spells, Nubian ibex often lie down or occasionally turn on their sides to stay cool. They generally spend the hot periods of the day in shaded areas.

Nubian Ibex Senses and Communication

Nubian ibex sense and communicate with vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling. They also employ pheromones (chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species) and scent marks produced by special glands and placed so others can smell and taste them. [Source:Jan Tomsen, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Goats and ibexes are considered relatively non-vocal, but they have evolved a complex system of visual signals for aggression. Jan Tomsen wrote in Animal Diversity Web: Courtship displays are the most intensively studied component of communication in caprines, and are largely similar across all members of this groups. Males will display to other males with their horns, body movements, tongue or lips. They will also display to females. Females often bleat during estrus, and males may make several clicking, nasal sounds, or bleats. The rump patch is shown when animals are indicating submissiveness. /=\

During the rut, males will attempt to gain access to females by sniffing them, licking their anal areas, or nuzzling. If a female urinates, the male will then sniff her carefully, often curling his upper lip, which is a posture known as flehmen that further opens his olfactory senses. Non-receptive females will refrain from urinating, and simply continue grazing or occasionally run away. Horns are used for fighting, specifically for ramming rather than puncturing. Typically two males will spar, clashing their horns together to establish dominance. Occasionally females will also use their horns for aggression towards upstart young males or other females. Sparring between individuals seldom results in serious damage or bodily injury. /=\

Nubian Ibex Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

Nubian ibex are polygynous (males have more than one female as a mate at one time). They engage in seasonal breeding — once a year during the rutting season from October to December. The gestation period ranges from five to 5.5 months. The number of offspring is usually one, but is sometimes two. Young are precocial. This means they are relatively well-developed when born. During pre-weaning provisioning and protecting are done by females. The average weaning age is three months. On average females reach sexual or reproductive maturity at two years and males do so at three to six years. [Source: Jan Tomsen, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

During most of the year females and their young, as well as males under three years live separately from older males but they come together for the rutting season. Males follow individual females and try to disrupt female herds. Older males try to drive off other males. During the rut courting males seldom feed and expend much energy fighting or mating, which takes it toll on their health.

As part of their mating behavior, both sexes engage in crouching, tongue-flicking, and scent marking on the tail, beard and chest The reproductive success of males is directly correlated with body strength and horn size. Males often engage in fights, in which they collide with one another with their horns and try to overpower their opponents. The long dark hairs of the backs of male Nubian ibex stand erect while fighting. Females typically mate two or three times during estrus, which typically lasts 24 hours. Males often become so excited during the rutting season they spontaneous ejaculate and masturbate by sticking their penis tips in their mouths.

Nubian ibex females exhibit a fairly high degree of parental investment in their offspring. Young (kids) are usually born between May and June. For the first several days of their lives kids are hidden before joining their mother. Before weaning females nurse their young daily and gradually teach them to forage independently and establish their position in the social hierarchy. Female ibex only nurse their own offspring and are hostile to kids that are not their and other femaless. It has been suggested that is because of the high degree of effort that mothers invest in their offspring. 1995) /=\

According to Animal Diversity Web: Most species of ungulates in mountainous regions depend on steep terrain to avoid predation. A grouping pattern unique to Nubian ibex among all other caprines has been observed in herds in the Avedat Canyon in Israel. Females leave their kids unattended in nursery groups in a steep-walled canyon with many other kids. The nursery is most likely an accidental trap that the kids have fallen into and cannot surmount the cliff walls to climb out. Mothers visit the nursery often to feed the kids, which stay in the nursery until they are mature enough to follow along on the steep cliffs. /=\

Nubian Ibex Humans and Conservation

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Nubian ibex are listed as Vulnerable. The most recent assessment was in 2020. They are not listed the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. There may be as many as 10,000 of them but their numbers in places like Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia are unknown. [Source: Jan Tomsen, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Nubian ibex were listed as an endangered species with an EN C2a classification on the IUCN Red List. C2a meat that the population estimate was less than 2,500 mature individuals, with no subpopulations greater then 250 mature individuals and an overall declining population trend. Nubian ibex are no longer listed as endangered because their populations have rebounded in some places and new populations of them have been found or are believed to exist. It’s hard to tell for sure because they often live in very remote, hard-to-reach places far from human settlements.

Nubian ibex are protected in Israel, Jordan, and Oman. The population is thought to be at carrying capacity in Israel, but some populations in other areas are critically endangered. Threats to Nubian ibex include habitat loss (via agriculture, livestock, and infrastructure development), hunting, pollution, and competition with non-native species. Protecting corridors which connect populations is particularly important for preventing population bottlenecks in this species.

Nubian ibex have been hunted for meat and trophies, and even wrapped as mummies and offered during rituals in ancient Egypt. Hunting is now illegal in most of the countries in which they are found. However, poaching is still widespread and protected areas are poorly enforced. Nubian ibex have been extirpated in Syria and Lebanon due to over-hunting. Ziswiller (1967) lists folk medicines that utilize nearly every part of the ibex. Their blood has been used to treat gall stones; the heel bone has been prescribed for diseases of the spleen. Feces were atean for anemia, the heart for strength, and stomach fluids for a variety of things. In some places Nubian ibex were regarded as pests as they competed with domesticated goats, camels and other domesticated animals for food. In Israel, foraging ibex have been blamed for damaging orchards and agricultural fields.

Wild goat and ibex species: 178) Wild Goat (Capra aegagrus), 179) Markhor (Capra falconeri), 180) Iberian Ibex (Capra pyrenaica), 181) Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana), 182) Walia Ibex (Capra wale), 183) Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex), 184) Siberian Ibex (Capra sibirica), 185) Kuban Tur (Capra caucasica), 186) Daghestan Tur (Capra cylindricornis)

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, CNTO (China National Tourism Administration) David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated May 2025