Fun Pyrenean Ibex Facts For Kids

It is true that the world is full of beautiful things, and this planet has a lot of fascinating creations stored for us. There are around 8.7 billion species known on this earth and there are many species yet to be found and many of them have left this world and are nowhere to be seen. One such species was Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica), also known as Bucardo, Pyrenaen wild goat, and Spanish ibex. The Pyrenean ibex was one of the four subspecies of Iberian ibex, and it is now extinct. This beautiful creature's extinction is still an unresolved mystery.

This species has left the world with a lot of questions and today we will try to find answers to all such questions. So, let's begin with interesting facts about the Iberian ibex subspecies.

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What type of animal is a Pyrenean ibex?

A Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) was a wild goat that was found in the mountainous terrain extending from Spain To Portugal.

What class of animal does a Pyrenean ibex belong to?

APyrenean Ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) was a mammal of Capra Genus. It was one of the four subspecies of Iberian ibex, before it became extinct.

How many Pyrenean ibexes are there in the world?

Unfortunately, there are no Pyrenean ibexes left in the world. The Pyrenaica species was declared extinct in the year 2000.

Where does a Pyrenean ibex live?

Pyrenean Ibex used to live in the mountainous terrain extending from Spain To Portugal. It is the only sub-species of Ibian ibex  that has gone extinct.

What is a Pyrenean Ibex's habitat?

Pyrenean ibex species habitat used to be on the cliffs before all the members died. As cliffs were dangerous for the predators, they protected them from being hunted by other animals.

Who do Pyrenean ibexes live with?

Pyrenean ibex used to live in groups. These groups were known as herds. The males and females of this subspecies used to have separate herds, and these herds used to meet each other only at the time of mating.

How long does a Pyrenean ibex live?

The average lifespan of the Pyrenean ibex was 17 years. As all the members of the subspecies have died, no current estimates are available on their life span.

How do they reproduce?

The mating season of ibex is known as rut. During the rut time, the male ibex fights with other ibex, and the ibex who wins gets the right to breed with the female ibex. Their mating session can last for 30 minutes. The gestation period of female ibex is 147-180 days. They can give birth to one to three baby Pyrenean ibexes.

What is their conservation status?

This species was declared extinct in the year 2000. The exact reason for their extinction is still not known. Still, heavy poaching, diseases, and lack of being capable of competing with other animals for food and living space are said to be the reasons for their extinction.

Pyrenean or Bucardo was a distinct wild goat. Its appearance was something worth watching. Apart from its appearance, this species has a lot more fun facts. So without wasting any time, let's have a look at these amazing Pyrenean fun facts.

What do Pyrenean ibexes look like?

The Pyrenean ibexes were not ordinary wild goats; they had a distinct appearance that was a lot fascinating. The male Pyrenean ibexes were grayish-brown in color and had a short coat, long lyre-shaped horns of 31 inches. The males had black patches on their coats. While on the other hand, the females were brown in color and lacked patches. Their horns were slightly shorter than the male counterparts. The male baby ibex used to resemble the color of its mother till the first year of its life and when they gradually grew up, they used to get the black patches on their coat.

How cute are they?

These creatures were less cute and more fascinating and beautiful. Their unique horns make them look fascinating, fierce and gorgeous.

How do they communicate?

Generally, all the ibexes use a scent when they wish to communicate with potential partners. Apart from this, they used to make sounds which helped them in communicating.

How big is a Pyrenean ibex?

A Pyrenean ibex was 5 ft long and 30 in at shoulder height. These wild goats were almost two times bigger than the ordinary goats.

How fast can a Pyrenean ibex move?

Their running speed is not known, but these wild goats were able to jump over 6 ft and above objects easily, and that too without any running start.

How much does a Pyrenean ibex weigh?

A Pyrenean ibex can weigh between 66-330 lb.

What are their male and female names of the species?

No special name is there for the male and female species they are simply referred to as male Pyrenean ibex and female Pyrenean ibex.

What would you call a baby Pyrenean ibex?

There is no special name. A baby Pyrenean goat can simply be called a baby or kid.

What do they eat?

Pyrenean ibex are herbivores, and they eat shrubs, grass, bushes, leaves, and other various types of vegetation.

Are they dangerous?

No, Pyrenean ibexes are not at all dangerous. They usually run away if someone gets too close to them. But yes, their horns are very sharp and strong. So, if you irritate them or threaten them then they may hit you with their horns which can cause serious injury as well.

Would they make a good pet?

Generally, goats can be kept as pets, and they are really good pets. But as we know that Pyrenean Ibex no longer exists, the question of keeping them as a pet ends there itself.

Did you know...

The last Pyrenean ibex was a female who was named Celia. Celia died because a tree fell on her and she was later found dead on the 6 January 2000. The death of Celia is known, but the true reason for the extinction of the whole Pyrenean ibex population is still an unsolved mystery.

Why is the Pyrenean ibex extinct?

Pyrenean ibex was declared extinct in the year 2000. There is no solid reason known for their extinction, but according to scientists, the Pyrenean ibex also known as the Spanish Ibex goat became extinct because of excessive hunting, diseases, and being unable to compete with other animals for food and shelter.

Cloning the Pyrenean ibex

Although the Pyrenean ibex is declared extinct by scientists, their extinction might not be permanent.  In 2009 three teams of scientists, which two teams were Spanish and French, tried to clone the Pyrenean ibex. The teams were supervised by Dr. Jose Folch of Zaragoza, Research of Aragon, from the Centre of Food Technology. However, the Pyrenean ibex clone died within seven minutes of birth. But in the future, this experiment might work as many efforts are being made in order to make this Pyrenean ibex cloning experiment successful. So, there's hope that this extinct animal might get back to life in the future through a successful cloned birth.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals including Italian wolf facts, or woolly monkey facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Pyrenean ibex coloring pages.

*Please note, as the Pyrenean ibex are extinct there are no images of this actual animal, but the main image we have provided is closely related to ibexes. If you have an image of a Pyrenean ibex, let us know at [email protected]