Spanish wild goat community in Maro - Cerro Gordo

Dear guest, the Iberian ibex, Spanish ibex, Spanish wild goat, or Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica) is a species of ibex with four subspecies. Of these, two can still be found on the Iberian Peninsula, but the remaining two are now extinct. The Portuguese subspecies became extinct in 1892 and the Pyrenean subspecies became extinct in 2000. An ongoing project to clone to the Pyrenean subspecies resulted in one clone being born alive in July 2003. This is the first taxon to become "un-extinct", although the clone died a few minutes after birth due to physical defects in lungs.

The males can weigh up to 70 kg and the females around 30 kg. It has a fur of cinnamon-cervine color in summer and buff-dirty in winter. Their annual growth horns can reach one meter in length in males and are thick, gnarled and curved in the shape of a lyre, while in females they are cylindrical and the length is no more than 25 cm.

The populations of Capra pyrenaica have decreased significantly over the last centuries. This is probably due to a combination of contributing factors such as hunting pressure, agricultural development and habitat deterioration. There are also a number of threats to the future preservation of the Spanish ibex such as population overabundance, disease, and potential competition with domestic livestock and other unuglates, along with the negative effects of human disturbance through tourism and hunting.

The subspecies that survive could reach fifty thousand specimens, present for the most part in Andalusia. Hence, we are going to present in this post the topic of Spanish wild goat community in the Maro-Cerro Gordo Cliff Natural Area (Nerja - Almuñécar).

The Iberian wild goat that lives on the cliffs of Maro-Cerro Gordo is one of the few places that will let us contemplate this species near the Mediterranean Sea, so close that it goes down to the beach, as if it were just another tourist.

In summer they move towards the peaks in search of fresh meadows and in autumn they go down again fleeing from the cold and the lack of food, although in Maro-Cerrogordo, due to a fire that occurred in the nearby Sierras de Tejeda-Almijara back in the years 70 of the last century greatly reduced their habitat, so they went used to being near the beaches of this natural area, almost all year round.

Their diet is very varied, which makes them very adaptable. They eat fruits and leaves of quercines, shoots of junipers or brambles, grasses etc. The current populations come from a small number, since in the 50s and 60s the populations has been drastically reduced, therefore they have suffered a great loss of genetic heritage, making them very vulnerable to certain diseases. According to data from the Ministry of the Environment of the Junta de Andalucía in December 2007, its situation is excellent in southern Spain, partly thanks to the good state of conservation of the Andalusian high mountain habitats, caused by the actions carried out within the framework of the "Andalusian Spanish wild goat Management Program".

They are beautiful and quite shy creatures, so they are not a danger for visitors, but you have to be careful when driving on the N-340, not to collide with one.

Dear guest, as in the previous post, I encourage you during your stay in one of our villas to visit the Cliffs of Maro-Cerro Gordo Natural Park and you will have many possibilities to see this precious animal, especially if you are in our wonderful Villa Conmia, since this house is located in this natural park https://www.grandesvillas.com/en/villa/villa-conmia?locale=en

Here is the Google Maps link to find this beautiful natural park: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Acantilados+de+Maro-Cerro+Gordo/@36.7463005,-3.783798,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0xd72263c799307e1:0x4465195f414a24c!8m2!3d36.7462962!4d-3.7816093