834 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



Nile and the Niger, and doubtless extend over the greater part of Central Africa to 

 the West Coast. They are kept by the natives in enormous flocks. 



Mention has already been made of the wild goats of the Isle of 

 Feral Goats Qi ura> w hich are probably derived from a domestic race perhaps 

 crossed with the paseng. Goats have also run wild in many other places, more 

 especially mountainous islands like St. Helena, Tavolara near Sardinia, and Juan 

 Fernandez. In St. Helena these wild goats have completely destroyed a large por- 

 tion of the native flora, and this has resulted in the disappearance of much of the 

 fauna. Goats were introduced by the Spaniards into Juan Fernandez in the year 

 1563. These soon increased enormously, and in order to diminish their numbers 

 clogs were subsequently let loose, and likewise ran wild. At the time of Lord An- 

 son's visit, in the summer of 1741, the goats had been greatly reduced in numbers 

 by the dogs, and they were further so much thinned by his party that it was esti- 

 mated only about two hundred remained. About thirty-five years ago Pechuel- 

 Loesche visited the island, and found that while the dogs had disappeared, the 

 goats had once more become exceedingly numerous. In 1885 the goats were being 

 vigorously hunted by the settlers with guns and dogs. The general color of these 

 goats is reddish brown, in some districts spotted with dirty white. 



IBEX (Capra ibex, etc.) 



Although the Spanish and Persian wild goats are frequently spoken of as ibex, 

 it seems preferable to restrict this term to four nearly-allied species, namely, the 

 true or Alpine ibex, the Himalayan ibex, the Arabian ibex, and the Abyssinian 

 ibex. All these species are characterized by their nearly uniform coloration, and 

 by the front surface of their long scimiter-shaped horns being flattened and orna- 

 mented by a number of bold transverse knots or ridges. These horns curve back- 

 ward, and diverge regularly, although in some cases their tips have an inward incli- 

 nation; they are nearly triangular in cross section, the base of the triangle being 

 .formed by the broad front surface, and the apex by the sharp hinder edge. In the 

 females the horns are small and placed wider apart at the base, with a nearly oval 

 section, and they are marked by parallel wrinkles. 



Al inelbex ^^ Alpine ibex, steinbock or bouquetin (C. ibex}, is now extermi- 

 nated as a wild animal, although preserved by the Italian Government 

 in one or two valleys on the Piedmont side of Monte Rosa. It is readily dis- 

 tinguished from the Himalayan ibex by the extremely small size of the beard of the 

 males, which is so short as to be scarcely noticeable. The animal is also of smaller 

 size, and at the present day, at least, its horns are far shorter, and have less promi- 

 nent knobs than those of the Himalayan species. Doubtless, however, the general 

 size of the animal, as well as the length of its horns, have been considerably reduced 

 by the circumscribed area to which it is now confined. Formerly, indeed, the ibex 

 roamed over the Alps of Savoy, Switzerland, and the Tyrol; but it is unfortunate 

 that there do not appear to be records of the length to which the horns formerly at- 

 tained. Horns of twenty-six and three-fourths and thirty-one and three-fourths 

 inches in length have, however, been recorded of late years. 



