West Caucasian Tur - North America Introduced | Online Record Book Preview

Capra caucasica dinniki

Tur occidental (Sp), Westkaukasischer Tur (G), Bouquetin du Caucase occidental (F). Also called Kuban tur.

DESCRIPTION (male) Shoulder height 37-42 inches (95-107 cm). Weight 145-175 pounds (65-80 kg), sometimes more.

A large goat with a stout build and relatively short, strong legs. The face is short and blunt, and the beard is longer (up to seven inches, 178 mm) and more prominent than that of other turs. The short summer coat is a uniformly bright chestnut-brown, with the tail, beard and front of legs blackish. The winter coat is much heavier and coarser. The horns resemble those of an ibex, being scimitar-shaped and having prominent transverse ridges, but they are more massive and shorter for their length. Females are about 20 percent smaller than males and have very small horns.

DISTRIBUTION Private ranches in Texas and Missouri.

REMARKS Native to the western end of the Caucasus Mountains in Russia and the Abkhazia region of Georgia, where it is an outstanding game animal in precipitous terrain.

HYBRIDIZATION The West Caucasian tur is either known or believed to crossbreed in a Game Ranch environment. Those that are the result of hybridization, should be entered as a Hybrid Ibex or a Feral Goat.