THE ABYSSINIAN IBEX 
CAPRA VALI 
T HIS splendid animal, one of the handsomest of all wild goats, 
was first brought to the notice of European zoologists in 1835 
by the great naturalist Riippell, whose description of it is as 
follows : “ Front and upper side of head, neck, and back, beautiful 
chestnut brown; muzzle, a curved streak between eye and ear, 
sides of neck, body and rump reddish umber brown. Region 
under the eye and ear, the chin, throat, chest and inner surface of the 
thighs and belly, dirty white. Outer side of thighs and legs and sides of 
belly, dirty grey. Feet whitish, with a large spot at the fetlock and a stripe 
down the legs black. Root of tail chestnut brown, tip black. Inner side of 
ears white with a reddish border, outer surface red-brown. Iris of eye 
pale brown, pupil dark blue.” 
The Abyssinian ibex is a much larger and stouter -built animal than 
its Nubian relative, standing about forty inches at the shoulder. The horns 
are more massive, but less curved than in the latter species, whilst the 
knobs along the front face are smaller. The longest pair known measure 
forty three and seven- eighths inches over the curve. 
From the date of its discovery by Ruppell in 1835 nothing more was ever 
heard of the Abyssinian ibex or wala, as it is called by the natives, until 
1901, in which year Major P. H. G. Powell-Cotton made an expedition to 
the mountains of Simien and procured a fine series of specimens of this 
rare and handsome animal. 
Major Cotton’s notes on the habits of the Wala, than which none other 
are available, as he is the only English sportsman who has ever hunted 
and shot this animal, are as follows: 
“ This ibex is called wala by the Abyssinians, and is said to exist 
only in the mountains of Simien. I shot four specimens at the 
commencement of autumn (end of June), just at the beginning of the 
rutting season. 
** There were slight falls of hail and snow, and it was very cold at 
night. There are said to be two feet of snow on the hilltops in August. 
On June 25 I saw two males and one female; later on the same day I 
saw a larger male by itself and shot it. On the 26th I saw two large 
males feeding by themselves, and later on found them with thirteen 
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