biology

Wild goat

Wild goat is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wild goat rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Wild goat belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wild goat to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wild goat from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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 is now considered to be a feral goat (Capra hircus), now known as Capra hircus cretica.

Distribution and habitat

In Turkey, the wild goat occurs in the Aegean, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Southeastern and the Eastern Anatolia regions up to 3,250 m (10,660 ft) in the Taurus and Anti-Taurus Mountains. In the Caucasus, it inhabits montane forests in the river basins of Andi Koysu and its tributaries in Dagestan, Chechnya and Georgia up to 2,700 m (8,900 ft). In Armenia, wild goats were recorded in the Zangezur Mountains, in Khosrov State Reserve, and in highlands of the Syunik Province during field surveys from 2006 to 2007. In Azerbaijan, wild goats occur in Ordubad National Park, Daralayaz and Murovdag mountain areas in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. In Iran's Haftad Gholleh Protected Area, wild goat herds live foremost in west-facing areas with rocky substrates, water sources and steep slopes that are far from roads. In Turkmenistan, wild goat populations inhabit the mountain ranges of Uly Balkan and Kopet Dag. In Pakistan, wild goat herds occur in Kirthar National Park.

Behaviour and ecology In Kirthar National Park, 283 wild goat groups were observed for 10 months in 1986. The group sizes ranged from two to 131 individuals but varied seasonally, with a mean ratio of two females per male. In Dagestan, male wild goats start courting females in mid December. The rutting season lasts until the third week of January. Females give birth to between one and three kids in late June to mid July. Older males drive younger males from the maternal herds. The gestation period averages 170 days. Kids are mobile almost immediately after birth. Kids are weaned after 6 months. Female goats reach sexual maturity at 1½–2½ years, males at 3½–4 years. The lifespan of a goat can be from 12 to 22 years.

Threats Wild goat populations are threatened foremost by poaching, habitat loss due to logging, and competition with domestic livestock for food resources.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wild goat

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wild goat claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wild goat before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wild goat ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wild goat

In research: Wild goat appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wild goat in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wild goat is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Capra (genus), Extant Pleistocene first appearances, Fauna listed on CITES Appendix III, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wild goat outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wild goat in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wild goat means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wild goat out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wild goat in simple terms?

Why does Wild goat matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wild goat?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wild goat.