One of the most unusual set of horns in the animal kingdom belong to Capra falconeri, better known as the markhor, or common name, ‘horn screw’ because this goat’s horns curl around in a corkscrew fashion. Females also have horns, but at under a foot in length they’re always shorter than the male horns which can grow up to four feet in length. Adults can weigh anywhere from 70 pounds to 240 pounds.
Recently taken off the IUCN Red List of threatened species in 2015, the markhor has been classified as ‘Near Threatened’ since that time. They are physically the largest species of goat on the planet, but one of the smallest in terms of population size with fewer than 6,000 animals estimated in the wild. Their biggest threat comes from illegal hunting and poaching.
The mountains of Central Asia and the Himalayas are the markhor’s home, with a range that includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Typically, females and offspring can be found in small groups on very steep mountain sides, while males wander forests alone.
In the wild, they typically live ten to thirteen years.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Genus: Capra
Species: C. falconeri
Binomial name: Capra falconeri
(Wagner, 1839)
The narration of these two videos sounds pretty much the same, but they have different visuals worth seeing if you’re interested.
“World’s Weirdest Animals: Markhor” (4:51)
“Markhor Goats | Corkscrew Horns” (4:45)
