The bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus aegagrus ) is a wild goat subspecies that is native to the montane forested areas in the Caucasus and the Zagros Mountains.
The bezoar ibex, which weights around 60kg (130lb) is known particularly for the size of its horns; it possess the world's longest horns in relation to body weight, and can exceed 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) high, those in the south and east desert ranges are typically smaller by 30 percent. Females are slightly smaller and their horns tend to grow to 0.2 m (7.9 in). Males have a dark brown summer coat, while the females have a more reddish-gold, and both sexes shift to a gray-colored coat in winter. Both sexes also have a tuft of hair extending from the chin. The ibexes have a black stripe from the spine that extends over the shoulder, limbs, and neck. This stripe darkens in the mating season.
In the Greater Caucasus, the bezoar ibex ranges from the upper Argun river in Georgia to Chechnya, in the Andi Koisu and Avar Koisu river basins in Daghestan and Tusheti up to the headwaters of the Jurmut river. In the Lesser Caucasus, it occurs in the mountain ranges in Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the Zangezur Mountains, Meghri, Mrovdagh, Karabakh and Delidagh ranges.In Iran, it is widely distributed and lives in rocky terrain, mountainous areas, on cliffs along the seashore, deciduous forests and in some areas in the Dasht-e Kavir desert.In Iraq, it occurs in the Zagros Mountains along the borders with Turkey and Iran.
