642 UNGULATA. 



The Dwarf Goat, Capra rcvcrsa, stands about twenty inches nign. 

 It has short horns, curving slightly backward. The short, thick coat is 

 dark, black and reddish-brown mixed together being the prevailing 

 color, but it is sometimes marked with white patches. It is found in the 

 countries between the White Nile and the Niger rivers in Africa, and 

 probably extends into the heart of the continent. 



THE IBEXES. 



The Ibex inhabits the mountains of the Old World, and dwells on 

 heights inaccessible to other large animals. Each species has only a 

 narrow distribution. Europe contains at least three species, and the 

 others are found in regions so widely separated as Siberia, Rocky 

 Arabia, Abyssinia, and the Himalayas. The specific differences lie in 

 the form of the horns. 



THE ALPINE IBEX. 



The Ibex, Capra ibex (Plate XLIX), is a stately creature nearly five 

 feet in length and three feet in height. The body is compact, the head 

 small but strongly arched at the brow, the legs powerful, the horns, 

 which are common to both sexes, are large and strong, and curve in a 

 semicircle backwaid. At the roots, where they are thickest, they stand 

 close together, but gradually diverge and taper. Their section is nearly 

 rectangular. The rings, which indicate the animal's age, form on the 

 front of the horn strongly marked transverse ridges, being most clearly 

 defined and most closely placed in the middle of the horn. The length 

 of these horns is often upwards of a yard, and their weight nearly thirty 

 pounds. The horns of the female are smaller than in the male, and 

 round. 



The Ibex was nearly exterminated some centuries ago, but for the 

 last century has been carefully preserved in the Italian Alps. It no 

 longer exists in the Tyrol or Switzerland, and for its preservation in the 

 mountains between Piedmont and Savoy we must thank the late king of 

 Italy, Victor Emmanuel, who took energetic measures to stop its de- 

 struction. At present, it is .supposed, five hundred Ibexes exist in ihe 

 hunting-grounds he possessed in the chain of Mont Blanc, in the com- 

 munes of Cogne, Campiglia, Ccresole, and Savaranche. Notices are put 



