ORDER ARTIODACTYLA I EVEN-TOED UNGULATES 609 



by the Portuguese. . . . From information received at the Sierra 

 de Picos, I think that this goat occurs also on the Sierra da Pena 

 negra, to the south-west of Leon." 



Cabrera writes (1911, p. 966) that the Ibex of the mountains of 

 Galicia and northern Portugal "is well-nigh extinct, only a few 

 specimens, if any, remaining in the Portuguese mountains of Gerez"; 

 and also (p. 964) that "in 1861, the date of Seoane's 'Fauna masto- 

 logica de Galicia/ a few individuals remained in the mountains of 

 that region." 



In former times its range probably extended to all the large 

 mountains in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, and about 

 the middle of the last century a few individuals still existed in 

 Galicia. It is very likely that this subspecies is completely extinct; 

 at least there is no record of any specimen taken since a female 

 was captured in 1890, so that if it has not disappeared entirely, it 

 must be very rare or have taken refuge in places that are inaccessible 

 and never visited by hunters. (Cabrera, 1914, pp. 324-325.) 



From the excellent monograph of Franga (1917) the following 

 information is derived. During the eighteenth century the animal 

 was doubtless still represented by numerous examples. In a work 

 of this century the supposed therapeutic value of its bezoar-stones 

 is discussed. Another work of this period describes a trap used by 

 the shepherds of Gerez for capturing the Ibex. Link shows (1803) 

 that it was still abundant at the end of the eighteenth century, and 

 that its range then extended from Borrageiro to Montalegre. It was 

 much hunted by the inhabitants. A hunter who would gladly sell 

 the hide esteemed the flesh too highly to part with it. Coverlets 

 were made of the hide, and the horns were used for ornament in the 

 houses. In later times the use of the horns as trumpets is mentioned. 



This Ibex commenced to disappear during the first half of the 

 nineteenth century. By 1870 it was very rare. Single males were 

 killed in 1874, 1876, and 1885. A dozen animals were seen in 1886. 

 The last one to be captured was an old female taken alive in Sep- 

 tember, 1890; it died a few days later. Two others were found 

 dead in 1890 and 1891; the latter was the victim of an avalanche. 

 The final ones were seen in 1892 near Lomba de Pau. 



Hunting was especially destructive in May, when the young were 

 small and the animals descended to lower levels. The Wolf and 

 the Golden Eagle must have contributed to the diminution. Some 

 were victims of avalanches. Disease and a disproportion of the 

 sexes (fewer females than males) are considered additional factors 

 in the extinction of the Portuguese Ibex. 



Franc.a considers the Portuguese Ibex a distinct species, not 

 merely a subspecies of Capra pyrenaica. 



