Take a wildlife sight with me ! - Markhor

 Hi peeps , 

Welcome to "Take a wildlife sight with me! ".

 I am an animal lover , and so will you be when you keep reading my blogs . I will be sharing you fun facts , Tips , Information and everything on animals . 

I will also be asking for your inputs

For my first post I am going to tell about my favorite Animal.😁

                                              Markhor

The Markhor or " screw - horned goat " is a wild goat species native to Central Asia , Karakoram and the Himalayas. This animal is also the national animal of Pakistan . It has large and flat horns , branching out very widely , and then going up nearly straight with only half a turn . Because of this animal's unique horn and behavior I love it . 

Behavior -    They are active at dusk and dawn , early mornings and late afternoon .

Facts      -  1 . Male Markhors are massive . They can grow to around 200 pounds ,  and have an exaggerated amount of hair extending from their chin/chest and, most notably, have spectacular spiraling horns at the top their heads. Females horns are less dramatic, their throats are less hairy, and their bodies a lot less stout.

2 .  There are three subspecies– the flare-horned Markhor, the Kabul (or straight-horned) Markhor and the Bukharan Markhor– which can be differentiated by the shape and extension of their horns. Although they have subtle differences , they look a little less or more similar to each other.

3 . The coats of Markhors come in a few standard colors. Usually their bodies are tan or grayish, with white chests and underbellies. But sometimes this coat is a reddish color. Their legs are black and white and their faces are dark. The horns of a Markhor can range in color as well, so these creatures do not all look exactly the same in every season.

4 . Living in the mountainous terrain requires the ability to move up and down the hill, often rocky terrain. Despite their large size, Markhors are extremely skilled climbers. These Magnificent creatures can even climb trees and other slanted structures, including dangerous cliffs, in order to forage for food and evade predators. what a skilled animal !!!!!

Habitat - high-altitude monsoon forests

The Markhor is most commonly found inhabiting the high-altitude monsoon forests that litter these areas. The Markhor is a very distinctive species of wild goat, easily identified by it's long, white winter hair and the enormous spiraled horns that can grow to more than 1.5 meters in length on the males.

Characteristics - 

 1. The Markhor is a large, stocky goat with relatively short legs and broad hooves.

 2. They have a distinctive mane and unmistakable straight or flared, usually deeply-spiraled horns. 

 3. Horns are borne by both sexes, but males have larger and much heavier, longer and more spiraled horns.

Population - Population number According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Markhor is more than 5,800 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are increasing.

Food Habits -Markhors are grazing animals in the summer and browsing animals in the winter. The Markhors diet consists of tussocks of grass, leaves and other vegetation. Like the Ibex, they stand on their hind legs to eat leaves and shoots from trees.

Thanks for reading  😊, hope you liked it I will be posting regularly about these Fantastic Creatures ! And don't forget to add your comment 💬 and tell me which is your favorite animal .👇