Nubian Ibex

Nubian Ibex
Character Data
Japanese Name: アイベックス Romanised Name: Aibekkusu First Featured in: Kemono Friends 3
Animal Data
Scientific Name: Capra nubiana Distribution: Middle East Diet: Herbivore Average Lifespan in the Wild: 12 years (Wild), 18 years (Captivity) Read More: Nubian Ibex Conservation Status:

Nubian Ibex​

KF3

Nubian Ibex is a type of bovid Friend who first appeared in Kemono Friends 3.

Appearance

Nubian Ibex has pale skin with a distinct blush on her cheeks. Her eyes are golden-brown and, true to real life goats, have rectangular pupils. The hair is a soft tan and goes down to her chin, with a slightly ruffled fringe. The tips are white. Long ears sit on top of her head and are the same tan as her hair, save for the tiny dark brown "triangle" markings on the inside. Also true to the real life Ibex, she has impressively long horns that curve up and behind her head.

She has a very "safari" color theme to her clothes: the shirt is a collared khaki button-up with a brown crop jacket over top. The collar has a black ascot tie in the middle. Her skirt is on the shorter side and is the same shade of brown as her crop jacket, complete with a white fur trim. The belt on her waist is the same black as her ascot. Lastly, her arm and leg warmers are an off-white with black accents, and her gloves and shoes are matching black.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role

In Real Life

A mature male Nubian Ibex on some rocks in Israel. A red ID tag can be seen on his right ear. Photo by Greg Schechter.

A mature female Nubian Ibex with her young kid. Photo by Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble.

The Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) is a desert-dwelling goat from the genus Capra. Once considered to be a subspecies of the Alpine Ibex, it is now a separate species.

The species is very sexually dimorphic: males are significantly larger than females, averaging 52–74.7 kg (115–165 lb.), comparing to the females' 25.3–32.7 kg (56–72 lb.). Both sexes stand around 65–75 cm (26–30 in.) tall at the shoulder. Fur color ranges from light tan (especially in females) to dark brown. Males have a distinct black "mane" going down their backs. The legs have a black-and-white "sock" pattern, with the black stripe going down the middle.

Their distinct horns are long and thin, extending up and around the back of the head. Both sexes grow horns, though the males are significantly longer. There is a significant relationship between the individual Ibex's age and the number of horn ridges- the more ridges, the older it is.

In past times, the Nubian Ibex had a very extended habitat range throughout the Middle East and Northeastern Africa. Now, the range is only seen in Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. In Lebanon and Syria, however, there was an extirpation (extinction of the local population). A "captive breeding and reintroduction" process is underway in Lebanon. The population presence in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Yemen is noted as "uncertain".

Nubian Ibexes prefer dry, rocky, mountainous areas, such as places with lots of cliff faces. Their main food source is the mountainous grasses and leaves, specifically leaves from the Acacia trees. When feeding, the ibexes can both forage on the ground as well as stand on their hind legs to reach the trees. If necessary, they can even climb into the trees to eat. The exact preferred plants depend on how much rain there is and how close the water sources are to cliffs.

Predators include apex predators, such as Arabian leopards, Arabian wolves, golden jackals, red foxes, golden eagles, and bearded vultures.

Herds typically consist of multiple females, their young, and males up to around three years old. Numbers range from as few as 20 to as many as 50. Once the males leave the herd, they are solitary until mating season. During mating season, the males with temporarily rejoin a herd for six to eight weeks. They are fiercely competitive for the females and will clash with their horns to fight for dominance. The mating season lasts between October and November, with gestation lasting another five months. Females will have either one or two kids.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the Nubian ibex as "vulnerable", on the basis that fewer than 10,000 mature individuals remain and the population is declining. Threats faced by the ibex include competition with domestic livestock for food and water, hunting pressure, habitat fragmentation, and habitat destruction. They are known to abandon high quality food sources if there is a high human presence. They will also seek out water sources with less human disturbance.

Despite this, some herds have been seen staying close to human settlements, as there is more food and protection from predators. Some have even been seen standing on cars and walking into buildings.

Trivia

Two very young Nubian Ibex kids. Photo by user Rhododendrites.

• The Nubian Ibex is the smallest ibex species.
• A male's horns can reach over 3 feet (usually 39 in.), whereas female's horns are only one foot (usually around 12 in.)
• Nubian Ibexes are diurnal, or active during the day and rest at night.
• Like with domestic goats, a male Nubian Ibex is called a "buck" or "billy", a female is called a "doe" or "nanny".
• Young goats are "kids".
• A newborn kid can stand within 15 minutes of being born and can nurse within two hours.
• They are known to share territories with rock hyraxes, [Arabian Ibex], and gazelles.
• The earliest remains of Nubian ibex in were found in Israel and date back approximately 150,000 years.
• The genetic makeup of Nubian ibex as a species has remained unchanged for at least 2,000 years.

References

• Wikipedia Page
• Ross, S.; Elalqamy, H.; Al Said, T.; Saltz, D. (2020). "Capra nubiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T3796A22143385.
• Mendelssohn, Heinrich; Yom-Tov, Y. (1999). Mammalia of Israel (Fauna Palestina). The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. pp. 271–280. ISBN 978-9-6520-8145-2.
• Attum, Omar; Soultan, Alaaeldin; Bender, Louis C. (1 November 2021). "Horn growth patterns of Nubian ibex from the Sinai, Egypt". Mammalia. 85 (6): 494–502.
• Hakham, Edna; Ritte, Uzi (1 January 1993). "Foraging pressure of the Nubian ibex Capra ibex nubiana and its effect on the indigenous vegetation of the En Gedi Nature Reserve, Israel". Biological Conservation
• "The reintroduction of the Nubian ibex in Lebanon". www.istituto-oikos.org.
• Hochman, Valeria; P. Kotler, Burt (2006). "Effects of food quality, diet preference and water on patch use by Nubian ibex". Oikos. 112 (3): 547–554.