Fun West Caucasian Tur Facts Facts For Kids

The west caucasian tur, Capra Caucasica as it is scientifically known, belongs to the Bovidae family and genus Capra. The other names of this tur are Zebuder, Zac, caucasian ibex. These have a body length of around 60 in (1524 mm) and are considered to be large, heavy goat-like animals. These are native to western parts of the Caucasus Mountains in Russia and Georgia. The habitat of the west caucasian tur, Capra Caucasica includes rough and rocky mountains, ridges, or slopes. These are herbivorous animals and feed mostly on plants, grass, and leaves. The grass and plants are known to be eaten in summer and leaves in winter. These are rusty gray or rusty chestnut, curved animals, and have dark brown legs and the coat may slightly differ in winter. Both the males and females have horns but the horns of females are shorter. The tail length of this animal is around 4-5.5 in. The mating season of this Caucasian tur, Capra Caucasica starts around late November to early January. The gestation period lasts for about 15-160 days and usually one young is born. These are usually known to live in small herds and males tend to be solitary and females are known to form maternal herds. The population has been declining and the IUCN red list status of these animals is Endangered. Predators of this tur include Steppe Wolves and lynxes and some other reasons for the decline of their population are habitat loss due to development, and poaching. It is quite interesting to know about this species and if you are interested, read about Saiga Antelope facts and Alpine Ibex facts too.

What type of animal is a west caucasian tur?

West Caucasian tur, Capra Caucasica as it is scientifically known is an antelope.

What class of animal does a west caucasian tur belong to?

It belongs to the class of mammals.

How many west caucasian tur are there in the world?

The population is estimated to be around 5000-6000 of these animals.

Where does a west caucasian tur live?

This species is found in or endemic to Central Asia and in the western parts of the Caucasus Mountains in Russia and Georgia.

What is a west caucasian tur's habitat?

This species is known to inhabit rough, uneven mountains, rocky ridges or slopes, and meadows, 0.5-2.5 miles above sea level.

Who do west caucasian tur live with?

Males of this species are known to live solitary lives while the females are known to live in herds.

How long does a west caucasian tur live?

The lifespan of these turs is known to be 12-15 years.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding or the mating season is around late November to early January. Males tend to be aggressive during this period and fight over females. The gestation period lasts about 150-160 days. Only one young is born, it is very rare for two young to be born. The young start feeding on grass when one month old and not weaned till three months old. Females tend to take care of the young. Sexual maturity is reached around two years for females while males reach sexual maturity at about five years.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of this species is Endangered.

What do west caucasian tur look like?

These animals have curved-shaped, crinkled, and these turs look like rounded triangles in some parts or cross-sections. The color of the body is known to be rusty chestnut or brown in summer and these colors become lighter on the sides. The winter coat is dull and is grayish-brown in color. The legs are dark brown in color. Both males and females have horns but the horns of males are larger than that of females and the length is averagely around 29.5 in. The tail length of this tur is around 4-5.5 in. Males are known to have beard-like hair under the chin.

How cute are they?

Turs are not considered cute, but this is subjective.

How do they communicate?

Not much information is available regarding the communication of turs.

How big is a west caucasian tur ?

Turs are known to be large, heavy goats and are around 60 in (1524 mm) long.

How fast can a  run?

The exact speed of the west caucasian turs is unknown.

How much does a  weigh?

West Caucasian turs weigh around 143-220 lb (65-100 kg).

What are their male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for the males and females of the species.

What would you call a baby west caucasian tur ?

There is no particular name for a baby of west caucasian turs.

What do they eat?

This species is herbivorous and the diet of these Western Caucasian turs includes grasses and plants of different varieties in summers and in winters, they feed on leaves of trees and shrubs. These feed in the morning and rest in the afternoon and then eat or feed again in the evening.

Are they dangerous?

These animals are not considered to be dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

.As they are wild aninals, they would not make good pets, as they prefer to be in their natural environment.

Did you know...

Males and females of the West caucasian tur, Capra Caucasia are known to live separately in same-sex herds for the most part of the year and mixed herds are formed during the breeding or mating season.

Males tend to live at higher altitudes ranging between 800-4,000 meters.

The coat is known to slightly differ in the winter and summer seasons.

West caucasian turs are known to travel for about 20 km a day for food if the resting and feeding places are different.

They are preyed upon by or its predators include Steppe wolves, lynxes, and sometimes, Persian leopards and Syrian brown bears.

The western half of the range of the Caucasus mountains of the West Caucasian tur tends to overlap with the other member of the genus Capra, the East Caucasian tur.

Is west caucasian tur a wild animal?

This species is considered to wild as they live in a particular native range and tend to travel or migrate.

Is west caucasian tur an antelope?

West caucasian turs are mountain-dwelling goat-antelopes.  

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 Pyrenean Ibex facts or wild goat facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our West caucasian tur coloring pages.