Montecristo Goat
| Details: | |
| Italy, I | |
| Location | Montecristo Island, Tuscany Archipelago National Park. |
| Species | Goat |
| Synonyms | Capra di Montechristo |
| Management | feral |
| Population size | unknown |
| Morphology | Height at the withers: Male: 70 cm, Female: 55 cm. Weight: Male: 33-50 kg. It has a typical wild coat shading from light brown to a varied reddish, bearing a pattern on the head and a dark dorsal line. Short-haired coat. Well developed horns in both sexes. |
| History |
This goat population is precious as it represents a unique example of survival of animals introduced in the first stage of domestication. An analogous situation is revealed only in Crete and in some small Greek Islands.
- The introduction of this goat to the Island was in ancient times, probably in the same period when the Muflon were introduced, about 6000 years ago. |
| Contact | Daniele Bigi, association RARE |
| Remarks |
The goat population shows an unbalance in favor of male individuals.
-Females give birth once a year to only one kid and the fertility rate is about 40%. -The genetic variability is higher than would be expected considering the isolation. This probably means that the colonization of the Island happened at different times and animals of various origins were subsequently introduced. A documented introduction was in 1898 (at that date Montecristo were a royal game preserve and goats, wild boars and mouflons were released). |
| Source of information | http://eng.agraria.org/goat/montecristo.htm |
| Hyperlink | http://eng.agraria.org/goat/montecristo.htm |
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Cabra di Montechristo: |
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