Northern chamois
Rupicapra rupicapra
Ondřej Kruml · Romania
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 70–80 cm shoulder
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Status in Georgia
- Resident, isolated populations
- Habitat
- Rocky subalpine and alpine zone, upper forest belt
- Family
- Bovidae
- Conservation
- EN / LC
The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is a hoofed animal of steep cliffs: it runs at 50 km/h and can jump 2 m high and 6 m long from a standstill. It belongs to the cattle family, Bovidae, but is much smaller than the tur and the wild goat. Both sexes have short, hooked horns, and the white face carries black stripes below the eyes. It is brown in summer and grey in winter. It once lived across the whole Caucasus, on the Likhi and Meskheti ranges and in mountainous Adjara. It has vanished completely from the Likhi Range, and today isolated populations remain on the Meskheti Range, at Borjomi and in mountainous Adjara. In recent years it has also been seen in the Lagodekhi, Borjomi and Batsara reserves and in Tusheti. Globally it is not threatened, but in Georgia it is endangered, so if you see a chamois, watch it from a distance and do not disturb it.
Identification
Northern chamois: how to identify it
A small, lightly built mountain hoofed animal, 70–80 cm at the shoulder. Both sexes have short, almost straight horns that bend back like a hook at the tip. The head has white patches and black stripes below the eyes. Its size and hooked horns easily set it apart from the tur and the wild goat.
It stands 70–80 cm at the shoulder, with a body 107–137 cm long. Males weigh 30–60 kg and females 25–45 kg, so males are slightly larger. These figures describe the species as a whole, not animals measured in Georgia.
Both sexes have horns: short, almost straight and hooked backwards at the tip. The male's horns are thicker. As in the tur and the wild goat, the horns are permanent and are not shed each year.
In summer the coat is a rich brown, in winter light grey. The sides of the head have white patches, with sharp black stripes below the eyes. The rump is white, and a black stripe runs along the back.
The East Caucasian tur and the West Caucasian tur are much heavier animals, and the males carry large, massive horns. The male wild goat has long horns that sweep back like a sickle. If you see a small hoofed animal on a cliff with short, hooked horns and a white face with black stripes, it is a chamois.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
The chamois lives in the upper forest belt and on rocky ground in the subalpine and alpine zones. It favours steep, rugged, rocky terrain and across its range climbs to at least 3,600 m. It spends the summer on alpine meadows above the tree line and in winter moves down into the forest, in places to about 800 m. In Georgia its historical range covered the whole Caucasus, the Likhi and Meskheti ranges and mountainous Adjara. It has vanished completely from the Likhi Range. Today isolated populations remain on the Meskheti Range, in the Borjomi Nature Reserve and in mountainous Adjara, and these southern populations are very small. In recent years it has also been recorded in the Lagodekhi, Borjomi and Batsara reserves and in Tusheti. Its overall range in Georgia is estimated at under 9,000 km², and the area it actually occupies at under 2,000 km².
The northern chamois map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. Records are still too few, and no region has enough records yet.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
The chamois is a plant eater. In summer it eats high-mountain grasses and herbs. In winter, when it moves down into the forest, it feeds on conifers: their bark and needles. It is not a predator and does not hunt other animals.
The chamois is active by day and often rests at midday, and on moonlit nights it may also come out to feed. Females and their young form herds of 15–30 animals. Adult males spend most of the year alone. In Europe the rut falls in late November and early December, and males fight fiercely over females. Pregnancy lasts 170 days. Usually a single kid is born in May or early June, and twins are rare. The kid is weaned at six months and is fully grown at one year. Chamois become sexually mature at 3–4 years, though some females mate at 2. Young males are driven out of the herd. In captivity it lives up to 22 years. Common causes of death are avalanches, epidemics and predators: the lynx, leopard, wolf, golden jackal, and possibly the brown bear and golden eagle.
Globally the chamois is rated Least Concern (LC, 2020). In Georgia the picture is very different: the 2014 Red List lists it as Endangered (EN) because of a significant decline in recent years. The 2021 national assessment also rates it EN: numbers fell by 54% over three generations or ten years, and the decline continues. The main threats are poaching and the shrinking of its habitat. It has already vanished completely from the Likhi Range, and the small southern populations at Borjomi and in Adjara could disappear too. In the European Union some subspecies are strictly protected under the Habitats Directive.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes, but it is rare. Isolated populations remain on the Meskheti Range, at Borjomi and in mountainous Adjara. In recent years it has also been seen in the Lagodekhi, Borjomi and Batsara reserves and in Tusheti. It has vanished completely from the Likhi Range.
In the upper forest belt and on cliffs in the subalpine and alpine zones. In summer it climbs higher, to alpine meadows, and in winter it moves down into the forest. Your best chance is in protected areas, and even then from a distance, through binoculars.
It is a small, agile hoofed animal, 70–80 cm at the shoulder. Both sexes have short horns hooked backwards, white patches on the head and black stripes below the eyes. The tur and the wild goat are much larger, and their males carry large horns.
It is 70–80 cm at the shoulder and 107–137 cm long. Males weigh 30–60 kg and females 25–45 kg. It is much lighter than a tur.
Plants. In summer it eats high-mountain grasses and herbs, and in winter the bark and needles of conifers. It does not hunt other animals.
No. The chamois is not venomous and does not attack people. The risk arises when you chase it on a rocky slope or set a dog on it. So watch from a distance and do not disturb it.
Yes. It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the Red List of Georgia. Its numbers fell by 54% over three generations or ten years, mainly because of poaching and the shrinking of its habitat. Globally it is rated Least Concern (LC).
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
