With the alias of Asian Antelope, or Suspended Sheep, it belongs to the Bovidae family of Artiodactyla order. Its scientific name is Capra ibex (Latin), or Ibex (English).
Ibex is similar but larger to goat in shape. Its body length ranges from 115 to170 centimeters, with shoulder height of about 100 centimeters. It weighs about 50 kilograms. Both male and female sheep have horns, but the horn of the male is particularly long, which could be over 140 centimeters, and bends backward like an arc. The male's beard under the chin is longer than that of the female. In summer, its hair is brown yellow, with belly and four limbs white in inner side. In winter, the hair grows longer, with lighter color. Its tail is 10 to 20 centimeters long, which is brown and black at the end.
It usually inhabits in marshy grassland and bare rock region in summer, and moves to regions at lower elevation in winters and springs. It mostly goes out in the morning for wild weeds. Usually moving in groups of 10 or more, it is alert, with sensitive vision, hearing and olfaction. The oestrus and mating is in November and December, and baby sheep is delivered in the following May or June, usually 1 to 2 babies per propagation. It grows to sexual maturity at the age of 2 or 3. Under breeding condition, its lifespan can reach as long as 22 years.
In China, Ibex has a small quantity, mainly distributed in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with some scattered in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Qinghai and western Gansu provinces.
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