A mountain animal with horns in both sexes and hooves suited to rocky ground.
Both sexes have horns, but females have slimmer horns with a gentler curve. The hooves have hard edges and a softer center for gripping rocks.
In Ticino, Switzerland, researchers analyzed September body masses for 5,635 yearling chamois, about one and a half years old, harvested from 1992 through 2018. Across that period, yearlings became about 3 kg lighter while temperatures from May to July rose by 1.7°C. The long record links growth in this alpine population with seasonal conditions.
Temperature during the birth and early-suckling window, 9 May to 2 July, showed the strongest association with yearling mass. The researchers also compared year-adjusted data, finding that the result was not simply a shared trend over time. Early life in the mountains coincides with a temperature-sensitive period of growth.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
A study of 5,635 yearling chamois harvested in Ticino, Switzerland, from 1992 to 2018 reported declining body mass alongside warmer spring temperatures. Conditions during birth and early suckling were strongly associated with yearling mass in this alpine population.