Wild goats: description and features, where they live, food and lifestyle

Roe deer is a popular name for wild goats that live in Europe, Siberia, the Far East, and the Caucasus. These medium-sized beautiful, graceful and graceful animals are one of the most famous representatives of European deer. Roe deer inhabit mixed and deciduous forests, forest-steppes. Hunting for these gullible artiodactyls is popular, and therefore the number of wild goats is constantly declining.

Description of wild goats

In some areas of European roe deer (Capreólus capreólus) are called roes, chamois, sanads (males - agrimi). Animals have a slender physique, a long neck, thin and long legs.Body length - 100-125 centimeters, height at the withers - 65-80 centimeters. The weight of males is about 25-30 kilograms. Females are slightly smaller in size and weight. Anatomical differences between them are weakly expressed.

Twice-branching small, up to 30 centimeters, horns with three processes at the top are only males. The growth of horns in goats begins at the age of 4 months, their full formation ends when the animal is 3 years old. They are shed annually in late autumn and early winter, and are restored again by May.

The summer color of goats is dark red (the head is gray with a reddish tint). In winter, it changes to gray or gray-brown. Kids up to three months old have a masking spotted color and practically do not smell. Shedding occurs twice a year - in late spring and early autumn. Specific dates depend on the climatic conditions of the habitat.

Thin legs of wild goats end in small hooves. The support in them falls on two fingers, two more are hanging, rudimentary. European forest roe deer, on average, live 15-16 years, some individuals live up to 20 years or more.

Some scientists distinguish the Siberian roe deer (Capreolns pygargus) as a separate subspecies, which lives in Asia and is distinguished by its larger size. These animals weigh up to 59 kilograms and reach a meter height at the withers. This variety of wild goats lives not only in Siberia, but also in the Far East, on the territory of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, acclimatized in the Volga region and Ciscaucasia.

Features in behavior

Wild goats are agile and graceful in their movements, easily jump - 5 meters in length and more than 2 meters in height, they can swim. The animal has excellent hearing and sensitivity, but at the same time it is very trusting, fearful. Fear can literally paralyze a wild goat, so even adults easily become prey to predators. If one of the roe deer has sensed danger and assumed a pose of alarm, the rest are also alert, huddling together.

Fun fact: these goats are so fearful that when caught, they need an urgent injection of a tranquilizer, otherwise they die from stress in 90% of cases during transportation.

Adults can run fast, at speeds up to 60 kilometers per hour, but for short distances: in open areas, a wild goat runs 300-400 meters, in the thicket of the forest - no more than 100 meters. After that, the animal begins to wind, confusing the pursuers. In sparsely populated places, without fear of people, roe deer let them approach them at a distance of less than 20 meters.

In spring and summer, goats are more active at dusk and at night, in winter - in the morning. From early spring to autumn, males rub their horns against the branches and trunks of trees and shrubs. Thus, they mark the territory, warning potential rivals.

The sound signals made by animals are also very informative:

• stomping feet, whistling expressing concern;
• when roe deer get very excited, they hiss;
• when alarmed - similar to barking;
• Caught goats chirping.

It is difficult for roe deer to walk on snow cover, so in winter they often use the trails of other animals or hunters. They slide on the ice.

Where they live

Wild goats live in mixed or deciduous forests, in the deciduous undergrowth of coniferous forests, in the forest-steppe. More often they prefer edges overgrown with shrubs, floodplains of reservoirs, beams, glades with sparse undergrowth. At the same time, too open spaces are avoided, because they need shelter from bad weather and enemies. These animals have adapted well to living near humans, they can often be found in the bushes next to agricultural land. Usually they live in one place and migrate very rarely - if the snow cover is too high in winter.

Food and lifestyle of chamois

The diet of roe deer includes up to 900 plant species. It mainly consists of young shoots of deciduous trees, foliage, buds of conifers, various herbs and immature cereals, nuts, acorns. Goats eat little by little, but often - 5-10 times a day, eating 1.5-4 kilograms of greens during this time. If there is a reservoir, they regularly visit it, and in the absence of it, they are content with rainwater or dew drops on the leaves.

Males during the growth of horns, and females during pregnancy need mineral s alts and try to find s alt licks.

These animals can raid orchards, especially apples. They practically do not harm vegetable gardens, but in autumn they prefer clover sown for seeds, rapeseed shoots, and especially grain ones. Wild goats tend to lead a solitary lifestyle. Groups are formed in case of a shortage of males or in winter, when it is easier for several families to survive together.In the forest area, up to 15 individuals stray into a herd, in the forest-steppe - twice as many. For most of the year, adult females keep in small family herds, and males singly. Days goats and goats usually spend in shelters. Lairs are arranged in the thicket of the forest or in high loaves, tearing the turf or moss with their front feet.

Reproduction

The mating season for wild goats is called the rut. In European individuals, it lasts from July to mid-August, in Siberian individuals, until September. Males at this time come into strong excitement, enter into fights, which often end in injuries. The gestation period of wild goats is almost 9 months. First-cat usually brings one cub, then two or three. Mothers in the first days do not leave the kids, protecting them, then the cubs themselves follow them.For the first few months, roe deer spend most of their time in shelters, while the mother feeds and rests nearby. The cubs stay with the goats until the next estrus season.

Interesting fact: roe deer are the only ones among deer who can “slow down” their own pregnancy if mating occurs too early. So that newborn kids do not die in winter, the embryo temporarily does not develop, being born only by the beginning of next summer.

Dangers and Enemies

Of the natural enemies, the most dangerous for Siberian roe deer are wolves, bears, lynxes, and in the Central European part - foxes and stray dogs. Most often, old or wounded animals, small kids become their prey. Eagle owls can also hunt babies.

A special category of enemies of wild goats are some types of flies, the larvae of which develop on the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity or under the skin of the animal, causing him constant suffering.Roe deer are the object of commercial and sport hunting, often become the prey of poachers. In some regions, they are listed in the Red Book as an endangered species.

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