Rupicapra parva Cabrera 1911

210.

Cantabrian Chamois

Rupicapra parva

French: Isard de Cantabrie / German: Kantabrien-Gamse / Spanish: Rebeco cantabrico

Taxonomy. Rupicapra parva Cabrera, 1911,

Picos de Europa Mountains, NW Spain.

Closely related to the Pyrenean Chamois (R. pyrenaica). Monotypic.

Distribution. Cantabrian Mts in NW Spain.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 90-130 cm, tail 3-4 cm, shoulder height 76-80 cm; weight 20-35 kg. Horn length 15-20 cm (males), horn basal girth 6.4-9 cm (males). Little sexual dimorphism occurs in body measurements of the Cantabrian Chamois. Body size and horn lengths average less than those of the Pyrenean Chamois. Pelage of the Cantabrian Chamois is redder in summer than the Pyrenean Chamois and tends to be gray in winter.

Habitat. The Cantabrian Chamois occurs atelevations of 400-2400 m in alpine and subalpine habitats with an element of precipitous terrain. Alpine meadows offer excellent feeding sites, but chamois have become equally adapted to forested habitats. The alpine—forested ecotone affords proximity to habitats that meet their foraging and thermal cover requirements. Proximity to steep, rugged, rocky habitats that affords security cover and escape terrain is especially required by females with young. Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) are significant predators in some areas.

Food and Feeding. Diets of the Cantabrian Chamois consist primarily of forbs and graminoids with a peak in spring and higher intake of browse in winter. In spring the diet of the Cantabrian Chamois is 85-95% graminoids; in winter it is 70% browse. Females tend to consume higher percentages of forbs than males throughout the year. Females graze more actively than males except in winter, when no difference in feeding activity between sexesis detected. In alpine habitats, they favor northern exposures in summer and southern and western exposures in winter. Females show less fluctuation in kidney fat index than males.

Breeding. The mating season of the Cantabrian Chamois occurs in November-December; births occur in May-June after gestation of 165-175 days. Females attain sexual maturity at three years of age. Fertility declines significantly after the age of eleven. Females give birth to a single young in cliffs and steep terrain. They remain segregated until the young are old enough to follow, and then they graze in subalpine meadows, but usually close to steep escape terrain.

Activity patterns. During early mornings in summer, Cantabrian Chamois move down from steep terrain where they spend the night, to feed in subalpine meadows. When the temperature rises, they seek thermal cover afforded by rocks, ledges and trees. They resume foraging during the cooler,late afternoon. When disturbed by humans, they may remain in rocky, precipitous terrain and avoid grazing in areas that afford more nutritive and abundant forage. In undisturbed areas such as national parks, they become accustomed to humans and forage close to campers and human habitations.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. During warm seasons, mixed groups use alpine meadows; they use the same areas in winter as long as grass patches are available. When snow cover prevents grazing, they move to forested lower slopes. They typically remain in an area most of the year due to the abrupt altitudinal changes and lesser snow fall in the Cantabrian Mountains. Group size is variable and changes seasonally in relation to escape terrain, forage availability, and especially during the mating season, when malesjoin female herds. Mean group size of females without kids is 5-59, that of males is 1-73, and of mixed groupsis 8-9 individuals. The most densely populated areas have 6-15 ind/km?.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as R. pyrenaica parva). A virulent scabies outbreak in the 1990s caused a major population decline of the Cantabrian Chamois in the eastern part of its range. Populations are increasing in several nature reserves, including national parks, and spreading to areas where the chamois were extirpated. In 2007-2008, an estimated 17,430 occurred in the wild in Spain. Hunting is permitted, with a combined total of 2000 Cantabrian Chamois and Pyrenean Chamois harvested annually. Potential competition with domestic livestock is a major concern.

Bibliography. Apollonio, Andersen & Putman (2010), Aulagnier et al. (2009), Cabrera (1914), Carranza (2010), Corlatti et al. (2011), Couturier (1938), Garcia-Gonzélez & Herrero (2007), Groves & Grubb (2011), Grubb (2005), Herrero, Lovari & Berducou (2008), Pérez-Barberia & Mutuberria (1996), Pérez-Barberia & Nores (1994, 1996), Perez-Barberia & Pérez-Fernandez (2009), Pérez-Barberia, Garcia-Gonzélez & Palacios (2010), Pérez-Barberia, Mutuberria & Nores (1998), Pérez-Barberia, Olivan et al. (1997), Pérez-Barberia, Palacios et al. (2009), Pérez-Barberia, Robles & Nores (1996), Rodriguez et al. (2009), Sanjurjo et al. (2009), Simpson & Epley (2002).