(photo by: Enrico Canal CTA-CFS)
Rupicapra rupicapra
Classe: Mammiferi (Mammalia)
Order: Artiodattili (Artiodactyla)
Family: Bovidi (Bovidae)
Dimensions: length 100-130 cm, height at shoulders 70-80 cm
Life: 18-20 years
Habitat: it lives between the woodlands and the high-mountain prairies; in summer it moves to higher altitudes, and in winter it comes down, even to only 600 meters a.s.l.
Diet: grass and wooden plants.
Reproduction: late autumn-beginning of the winter. During the mating season, male’s runs are spectacular.
Cubs: only one baby is born in spring. Females can look after the babies of other females, forming the so-called “nurseries”
Curiosities: when it gets alarmed, it utters a characteristic whistle
Notes: it is a typically Alpine ungulate, perfectly adapted to move around in rocky environments. The coat is light brown during the summer, and becomes darker in winter. Females and babies live in groups that in winter may reach one hundred units; adult males join the herd only during the mating season, during which they face each other raising the dark hair on the back
In the Park: there are several groups of this ungulate, especially in the central-eastern part of the protected area