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.