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Turkmenian Markhor
We have 4 Turkmenian markhor here at Paignton Zoo, 4 females (Bramble, Heather and Daisy) and one male (Bud). You can find them up at the limestone quarry exhibit, behind the Giraffe House.
Markhor are the national animal of Pakistan. Their name derives from the Persian “mâr khor”, which means “snake eater”, referencing ancient folklore tales about them hunting and devouring snakes (although this has never actually been observed on record).
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Artiodactyla
Family:
Bovidae
About the Turkmenian markhor
This markhor subspecies (also known as Bukharan markhor or Tadjik markhor) can be found in the mountain regions of Central Asia, across Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Markhor are herbivores that feed on various grasses, leaves, twigs, and shrubs, with their diet shifting seasonally – grazing on grasses in spring and summer, then switching to browsing on leaves, twigs, and shrubs during autumn and winter. They often stand on their hind legs to reach high vegetation.
Both sexes possess spectacular tightly curled, corkscrew-shaped horns, with males’ horns growing up to 160 centimetres in length whilst females’ horns reach approximately 25 centimetres.
Markhor are adapted to mountainous terrain between 600 and 3,600 metres elevation, inhabiting scrub forests made up primarily of oaks, pines, and junipers. They are expert mountain climbers, possessing flexible hooves with hard, horny edges that provide traction and act like suction cups on rocky surfaces. They have even been observed climbing trees up to 20 feet tall using their specialised hooves and dewclaws for leverage on rough bark!
Conservation
Current population estimates place markhor numbers at approximately 5,000-6,000 individuals as of 2022.
The greatest threats to markhor survival are habitat loss, illegal hunting and poaching, and competition with domestic livestock for grazing areas. Poaching, with its indirect impacts including disturbance and reduction of effective habitat size, is by far the most important factor threatening markhor populations, causing fragmentation into small isolated subpopulations prone to extinction.
In Pakistan, a controversial but highly successful community-based trophy hunting programme has helped markhor populations grow dramatically. By giving local communities financial incentives to combat illegal poaching, the programme has proven more effective than land patrols.
Following these efforts, their status was downgraded to Near Threatened in 2015.