Chamois Hunt in Spain

The chamois resembles a goat, but in fact in its own genus and is more closely related to the goral than the goats.

The chamois is perfectly adapted to its way of life amongst the steep mountain sides, in particular it  has evolved  to have soft hooves that allow it to stand firmly in this habitat.

The chamois has a very distinctive appearance. In summer it’s coat is light brown, while in winter it’s coat becomes very dark and thick. It’s most characteristic feature are the black and white markings on it’s head. While both sexes have horns, which curve backwards, the rams horns are thicker and more curved the the ewe’s.

Chamois are native to the high mountain chains of central, southern and eastern Europe. In the summer they live above the tree-line, when they forage on the high alpine mountain sides. During the winter the move lower down to forage in the higher parts of the forest.

They mainly eat grass, herbs, leaves and shoots, but will all take lichens, bark and pine. Chamois can eat many plants that are poisonous for humans, for example foxglove (Digitalis sp.), and deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), but they avoid nettles and ferns. As such they are highly adapted to life on the often very barren mountain sides.

The females live in small family groups during the summer. In the winter they will gather together into larger flocks. The bucks live a more solitary existence. The rut takes place in the autumn,  and if you are lucky you can observe them fighting over the females. During the rut the males become territorial, scent marking their territories using glands that sit behind their horns. At this time they are often heard grunting loudly from their individual territories.

The Spanish chamois  (Rupicapra pyrenaica)is classified as a separate species form the other European chamois (R. rupicapra), and two sub-species the Cantabrian and the Pyrenean chamois occur in Spain. The Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) can be hunted in Leon province, 4 hours drive north of Madrid. The hunting season is from the 15th September to 31st October.

he Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenica) can be hunted in the Pyrenees mountains along the border with Spain. The hunting season is 1st April - 30th May, together with 1st November to 31st December. The Pyrenean chamois is slightly larger than the Cantabrian, rather darker and the horns slightly thicker. The average trophy size is 90 - 95 CIC points.

Pyrenean Chamois