Capra cylindricornis (Blyth, 1841)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6512484 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6636950 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F50713-9926-FF9E-06DF-F3B5F8EDF564 |
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treatment provided by |
Conny |
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scientific name |
Capra cylindricornis |
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Daghestan Tur
Capra cylindricornis View in CoL
French: Bouquetin du Daghestan / German: Dagestan-Tur / Spanish: Tur del Cducaso oriental
Other common names: East Caucasian Tur, Eastern Tur
Taxonomy. Ovis cylindricornis Blyth, 1841 ,
Caucasus.
There has been uncertainty in the past whether the Daghestan Tur and the Kuban Tur ( C. caucasica ) are conspecific. They are marginally sympatric where their ranges meet and hybridize in captivity. Morphological and genetic data indicate probable hybridization in the wild, but this has not been fully confirmed, and this explanation is denied by some authors. The situation is unresolved, but it is clear that the two are quite distinct morphologically and easily recognizable in the field. Monotypic.
Distribution. E Caucasus stretching about 500 km in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and within the Russian Federation in Kabardin— Balkaria, North Ossetia — Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Daghestan; E distributional limit is the Babadagh Mts in Azerbaijan, W limit is the Bezengi Cherek River. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 178-192 cm (males) and 135-141 cm (females), tail 11-15 cm, shoulder height 79-105 cm (males) and 65-70 cm (females); weight 100— 143 kg (males) and 48-64 kg (females). Horn length 70-90 cm (males) and 20-22 cm (females); basal horn girth 26-30 cm (males). Male horns grow upward and diverge, then twist backward and upward. The tips point upward and are broomed or broken. Horns are triangular in young males and subtriangular to cylindrical in mature males. Mature male body color, including top of head and tail, is dark brown in winter pelage; front of hind and front legs distinctly darker. Mature males are uniformly dark; rump patch is yellowish and narrow, covered by tail. In young males, belly and inner surfaces of front and hindlegs are whitish. Female winter pelage is grayish is sandy-yellow with whitish ventral body and dark brown stripes on front of legs. Beard of males is 12 cm long (or shorter; shortest beard of all wild Capra ) and directed slightly forward. When bent forward it does not reach beyond the chin. The male’s beard is almost absent in summer; females are rarely bearded. Summer coat of all ages and genders sandyyellow, but belly and inner surfaces of legs are dirty-yellow; there are dark brown stripes on frontal surfaces of legs. Diploid chromosome numberis 60, typical of all Capra .
Habitat. The Daghestan Tur occurs at elevations of 1000-4000 m in alpine and subalpine open forests, meadows, and river valleys in or adjacent to steep, rocky habitats. Females have a greater affinity to precipitous terrain than males. Most populations spend the year at 2500-3200 m in alpine areas in summer and lower areas in winter. Some populations spend the entire year in open forested areas. Over 80% of herds of females, kids, yearlings, and young males remain in open forests; over 50% of adult males prefer higher elevations. In summer in areas above timberline, 63% of females in groups occurred in steep terrain and over 83% of adult males fed on gentler slopes; in some areas males use medium-steep (26—46°) slopes. In general, males prefer higher, gentler slopes, and open habitats and females use lower, steeper, and open, sparsely forested areas. Females live up to 22 years, and males in the wild 15-16 years. Mortality of young of the year can reach 40%. At age three, mortality is 9:-5% for both males and females, and by age 14, is 32% for males and 14% for females. In North Ossetia, the kid-female ratio correlates negatively with the depth of the previous winter’s snow. A succession of severe snowy winters caused a significant decrease of the population due to a drop in birth rates and kid survival. Most mortality is caused by avalanches and predators. Avalanches may account for 60% of annual mortality, mostly of adult males. In one area, avalanches annually killed about 370 animals (4% of population). In another area, during a particularly snowy winter, 367 animals (35% of annual mortality) died. Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) can account for up to 20% of annual mortality; mortality from predation is highest in less rugged and steep terrain. In the central Caucasus, Eurasian Lynxes (Lynx lynx) may account for 58% of kid mortality annually. Large birds of prey can cause 5-7% of annual kid mortality. The Brown Bear ( Ursus arctos) 1s a minor predator.
Food and Feeding. Daghestan Tur are primarily grazers; grasses comprise 30% or more of annual diets, much as 65% in summer and early winter and less in summer (30%), when forbs become available. Up to 60% of winter diets may consist of browse; they may subsist on pine needles during heavy snow periods. They can use 29-51% of phytomass in a given area, which can alter plant community composition and biomass. They consume mineralized soil and drink from mineral springs. They will paw through snow up to 30 cm deep to reach the underground parts of plants, bend branches with their forelegs, rear up on their hindlegs to reach high forage, and climb slanting trees.
Breeding. Rut lasts up to 1-5 months, from mid-November to the beginning ofJanuary. Gestation period is 165-175 days. Parturition occurs from the end of May until the end ofJuly, with occasional births in August. Females reach sexual maturity at age two but usually first give birth at age three or four, almost always to singletons; only 3-3-3-7% of females twin. Neonates weigh 3-4—4-1 kg. Prior to parturition, females isolate themselves in rugged, precipitous terrain. They hide the neonate for 2-3 days and periodically return to nurse until the kid is strong enough to follow the mother. In summer, kids constitute about 16-22% and yearlings 7-8% of the population. Males older than eight years do most of the mating. They guard a single estrous female but will mate with several females during the rut. Adult males establish a dominance hierarchy and dominate younger males, attempting to prevent them from mating. Adult males receive 0-2 aggressive interactions from other adult males per hour; young males receive 0-75 interactions from adult males per hour. Intensity of courtship in adult malesis higher (3-2 displays/hour) than in 3to 6year-old males (2-1 displays/hour). Courtship attempts by young males can be aggressive toward females; females responded aggressively to 15-5% of the courting attempts of young males, but only 9-5% of those by adult males.
Activity patterns. Daghestan Tur favor northern slopes above timberline in summer (63:5% of sightings) and southern slopes in winter (93%). Adult males are least active from 08:00 h until 16:00 h. Females are more active during daylight than males, perhaps due to higher nutritional needs in lactating females; they also feed at night. There can be daily vertical movements, to higher elevations in the morning, where they graze in meadows,to lower, rugged terrain in early evening, where they spend the night. This pattern of movements may be reversed in some areas. Daily movements of males are about 1500 m horizontally and 1000 m vertically; those of females are 500 m horizontally and 300 m vertically. Males during the rut scent-mark (0-1 mark/ hour for each male) by rubbing bark from tree trunks and bigger branches with their horns, rubbing their post-cornual area on debarked vegetation; they sniff the mark periodically.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Vertical movements occur seasonally between lower winter ranges and higher summer ranges. Seasonal movements rarely exceed 5 km, but they can be up to 15 km during heavy snows; males usually move longer distances. Female annual home ranges encompass 4-6 km®. Males have larger home ranges because of their greater movements during the mating season. Adult male groups consistently use the same trails, resting sites, and feeding areas. Population densities vary from 1:5-1-7 ind/km? to up to 66 ind/km? in wintering areas. Herds consist of adult male groups (greater than six years old) with some younger males; younger male groups; female groups that may include young males; and mixed groups consisting of females and males of several ages that include at least one adult male and one adult female. Mixed groups occur during the pre-rut and rutting period only. Adult male mean group size is 12-2. Mean group size of mixed groupsis ten animals during high population densities. That of female herdsis 6-8; these are the most stable groups. The kid—female ratio is inversely correlated with population density, ranging from 73 kids: 100 females at a density of 1-8 ind/km? to 48 kids:100 females at a density of 7-3 ind/km?*. Average annual group size is 7-4 but may change from 5-8 in November-December to 9-5 in May-July. Herds of 300 can be observed in highdensity areas. Large herds are temporary groupings, often due to concentrations at artificial salt licks. Group size correlates with population density, ranging from a mean of 11-15 when population density is 1-8 ind/km?* to about 30 at a density of 7-3 ind/ km?*. Topography can influence group size more than snow cover, population density, and forested terrain. In a protected area in Ossetia, mean group size was 9-7 in steep terrain and 24 in undulating and less steep terrain. It was over 70 in Azerbaijan in the latter terrain. Herd sizes are negatively correlated with intensity of domestic sheep grazing. In areas without intensive livestock grazing, winter Daghestan Tur density was about 3-1-3-5 ind/km?; it decreased to 1-2-1-5 ind/km? in rangelands where greater than 80% of the winter pastures of Daghestan Tur were used by domestic sheep.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Daghestan Tur is threatened by competition with livestock and associated human disturbance, including illegal hunting, inadequate size and number of existing protected areas, and lack of enforcement of wildlife regulations. Populations decreased from 30,000 in the 1970s to about 20,000 currently; actual numbers are unknown due to lack of monitoring. Most populations are concentrated in small protected areas.
Bibliography. Abdurakhmanov (1973), Akhmedov & Magomedov (1995, 1996, 2000), Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1966), Groves & Grubb (2011), Grubb (2005), Hassanin et al. (1998), Heptner et al. (1988), Magomedov & Akhmedov (1994), Magomedov & Yarovenko (1998), Magomedov et al. (2001), Manceau, Després et al. (1999), Valdez (1985), Veinberg, Pl. (1984, 1989, 1993), Veinberg, P.J. (2002, 2004), Veseshchagin (1967), Weinberg (2002, 2008), Weinberg, Akkiev & Buchukuri (In Press), Weinberg, Valdez & Fedosenko (1997), Zalikhanov (1967), Zvychainaya (2009).
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