Markhor: what is the super value of this beast? (10 photos)

The horned goat, or markhor, is one of the largest representatives of the mountain goat family. In the continuation of the article you will find out why it is considered one of the most expensive pleasures for a hunter in the world.





A lion hunt costs approximately $15,000, depending on the season, legality, method of hunting, and other things. At the same time, in 2021, the price of a license to hunt one single horned goat has jumped to 140 thousand dollars! Think about it, this is the cost of just a permit to shoot some goat somewhere far away in the mountains! Without transfer, hotel, guide and even without snacks. If you think like that, then for this amount you can hire a killer, he will arrange the goat’s death as a suicide, and you won’t have to go anywhere at all. But since people pay, it means there really is something there. And this is the very “what” we will find out today.



You can meet them in the mountains of South and Central Asia. We must immediately give them credit, the markhors look impressive - the horns alone are worth it! In mature males, they can grow up to 160 centimeters in length in a spiral. By the way, the length of a reindeer's antlers is approximately 150 centimeters.



My horns touch the clouds. What have you achieved in this life?

In addition to a pair of long corkscrews on their heads, markhors can boast of size. At the withers, adult goats reach 115 centimeters and gain up to 120 kilograms of weight - an impressive carcass. The size of males is enhanced by a thick and long beard-mane, which starts from the chin and ends only in the groin area. But it’s not just their size that makes animals so valuable? Of course not! There are several factors at work here.



First, hunting markhor is very difficult and dangerous. Even with modern equipment, climbing mountains, rocky ledges and steep slopes at a height of 600-3600 meters is not a good idea. And the goats feel comfortable there, this is their home! Animals jump over the rocks, as if nothing is simpler in this life, and only laugh at the rare predators. What about people? Leopards, wolves, bears and lynxes do not always dare to attack an adult markhor.



Seryoga, there’s another biped falling down there again, let’s hurry up and take a look!

This is because the hooves of animals are very cleverly designed. At the edges and at the very tip, each hoof is hard and strong, and in the center it is soft. Thanks to this structure and natural sense of balance, the animal can hold its carcass even on a tiny ledge of a sheer rock. No matter how dexterous leopards and lynxes are, they cannot perform such tricks! And people are even more so, so hunters can only hope for luck.



Catch Me If You Can!

The second reason bucks are so expensive is that they are difficult to track. Once again, animals have an excellent sense of smell, excellent hearing and excellent eyesight. Even at the slightest suspicion of danger, the markhors quickly leave along the steep cliffs - and all is lost. Two - the animals are excellent at camouflage. In summer, their reddish-brown coat fits perfectly into the mountainous landscape, and in winter, their warm gray-white coat is just as camouflaged.



Three - ungulates are very secretive and very few in number. Outside the breeding season, females and cubs travel in small separate groups of 8-10 individuals. The young go with their mother until they are about 2 years old, until the males leave their native group and the females become mothers. This is not an easy task: first, more than 5 months of pregnancy, and then try to feed 1-3 back-eaters. This does not always work out well - according to some data, about half of the cubs die in the first year of birth. Therefore, hunting of females and young animals is not permitted.



Single adult males join females only during the rutting season, from November to January. But even here simple prey will not work, because at this time the goats are extremely aggressive. The alpha male will demonstrate in every possible way his superiority and right to own females, driving away other contenders and engaging in fights. Markhor fights are very dangerous, because the goats try to throw each other off the cliff!



Well, the third reason for the high cost of hunting markhor is the special value and rarity of this animal. In the countries where they live, many myths, legends and fairy tales are associated with animals. Even the name itself - “markhor”, translated means “snake eater”, since the locals believed (and maybe somewhere still believe) that the goat purposefully searches for and eats poisonous reptiles. And if you eat markhor meat, you can be healed after a snake bite.

All these inventions led to the fact that with the advent of firearms, goats were very quickly exterminated. Today, the entire animal population is under threat of extinction and rare licenses are issued only for shooting very old males, which are no longer suitable for restoring the population. Rarity, coupled with preserved ideas about the majesty of markhors, pushes the price tag on their hunt to the skies.



And no matter how strange it may sound, the measure of issuing official shooting licenses greatly helped restore the ungulate population. The fact is that goat poaching is strictly punished, and permitted hunting is encouraged and supported. In addition, most of the money from the sale of the license goes to the same organizations that provide protection and restoration of the species. And 14 million is no joke!