Ibex Hunts

Hunting Ibex

The ibex is a large-horned goat found in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. There are eleven subspecies of ibex which vary in size, coloration, and horns. An adult male ibex can weigh between 50kg and 100kg and stand up to 80cm tall at the shoulder. They are herbivores that eat grasses, herbs, and shrubs but will also eat leaves from trees such as beech or oak if there is nothing else available.

Different countries have different laws for hunting ibex. Some countries are more restrictive than others. The season, bag limit, and license requirements vary from country to country. Hunting methods may also be restricted in certain areas.

Alpine Ibex

Alpine ibex is found in Europe’s Alps Mountain Range. They may be hunted in Slovenia, Switzerland, and Austria. Huntable populations are also found on game ranches in Texas in the United States.

Anatolian Ibex

The Anatolian ibex is the most common species of ibex and can be found in Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. The males have curved horns that can grow up to 65 cm long. These horns have been used for various tools throughout history, including musical instruments and weapons.

The Anatolian ibex are hunted for their horns by professional hunters who will sell them on the black market or give them away as gifts. These animals are also hunted for their meat which has been used in traditional medicine for centuries due to its high protein content.

Caucasus Ibex

Known as the Caucasus Ibex, the animal is found in the south of Russia, Georgia, and Armenia. This species of ibex is called the Siberian Ibex if it is hunted in Siberia. The hunt for this species is regulated by the Russian Duma and by the Georgian Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

Alpine Ibex

Alpine ibex is found in Europe’s Alps Mountain Range. They may be hunted in Slovenia, Switzerland, and Austria. Huntable populations are also found on game ranches in Texas in the United States.

Spanish Gredos Ibex

The Gredos ibex is a relatively large species of wild goat with a straight and clearly defined horn that is typically longer than one meter (39 inches).

Its coat is usually reddish-brown, although it can also be gray or black. This animal has an average shoulder height of 80 cm (31 inches) and weighs between 41 kg (90 pounds) and 74 kg (165 pounds). Its horns may measure up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long.

The Gredos ibex inhabits the central heights of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain. It lives at altitudes between 1000m and 2000m above sea level, where temperatures are cooler than those found in lowland areas.

Pyrenean Ibex

The Pyrenean ibex was found in the Pyrenees Mountains, which span southwest France and northern Spain. They went extinct in January 2000.

Spanish Ronda Ibex

The smallest of the four Spanish ibex species is the ronda ibex. They live alone in a tiny mountainous region in Spain's province of Malaga. These ibexes are distinguished by their unusual body composition and shorter, straighter horns.

Because of their isolation, ronda is distinctive from other Ibex species. Due to their low population, they are a desired and difficult trophy to acquire. The ronda ibex horns often develop upward in a V-shape, then turn backward in a 90-degree spiral. Horn thickness remains constant for the first half of its length before progressively decreasing to its broomed tips.

Spanish Beceite Ibex

This ibex is found in Spain, specifically in the mountains of Béjar, Salamanca, and Segovia. It's a white-colored goat with black horns and legs. The beceite ibex eats grasses, sedges, and herbs. If you're going to hunt this species of ibex, it's a good idea to have some kind of camouflage so you can blend into your surroundings and not scare it off before you get close enough for a shot.

Spanish Southeastern Ibex

A Southeastern ibex hunt is done by stalking in Government game reserves. The hunting season is from October to May. The best time is during the rut (from November to December) and in spring (from March to May). The Southeastern ibex hunting area is at least 3 hours from the Alicante Airport. Male horns grow long and follow a unique backward curve.

The Sierra Nevada or Southeastern ibex is an ancient animal. It is estimated that during the Pliocene Era (7 million years ago), the ibex of Central Europe evolved.

The southeastern ibex or the Sierra Nevada ibex can be found on the Eastern side of Andalusia in the provinces of Granada, Almeria, and Jaen.

Anatolian/Bezoar Ibex

The Anatolian ibex, which has the world's longest horns in relation to body weight (140 lbs.), is the most handsome of the ibex species with horns as long as 55". The hide of the male Ibex turns black and white during the rutting season.
It is hunted in twelve different hunting areas; in Antalya in the western Mediterranean region, in the Taurus Mountains, which extend east to the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Nudge, and in the Erzincan, Tunceli, and Adiyaman provinces of Eastern Anatolia, from November to March.

Bezoar Ibex

Turkey has a healthy ibex population and is an excellent place to hunt this species. Turkey also offers many other types of wildlife, in addition to the ibex, that can be included in your hunt. Turkey has a long history and tradition of hunting, which means there are many options available when booking your next trip there.

Bezoar ibex numbers are good throughout Turkey, and they have spread along the Taurus Mountains range. The best time for a Bezoar Ibex hunt is in the rut, during which it is easier to find trophy bezoars in lower elevations while they’re chasing the females. The rut time varies from region to region.

Bezoar Ibez is also found and hunted in the mountains of New Mexico. New Mexico's Florida Mountain is the only place in the Western Hemisphere where pure blood, unfenced, free-ranging Persian (aka Bezoar) ibex are hunted.

Himalayan Ibex

The Himalayan ibex (Capra ibex sibirica) is found in Northern Pakistan and lives in the dry, rocky mountains of Gilgit-Himalayas, Baltistan's Hindukush, and Karakoram. The females have small bodies and short horns, while the males have big bodies and long horns.

As the name suggests, Himalayan Ibex inhabits the Himalayan mountains, the highest mountain range in the world. It is a higher-dwelling animal than Markhor. Himalayan Ibex live at 9,000'-12,000' above the tree line in many areas. Hunting opportunities exist in Pakistan, in perhaps the wildest, most remote part of the country, where people’s lifestyle has changed little over thousands of years.

Himalayan Ibex hunting is the typical mountain hunt. It starts with the hunter climbing above the animals and glassing them and ends in a careful stalk and a long, challenging shot. Occasionally a drive may be made, with the guides pushing the animal to where the hunter is hiding. Most mountains in the country are too steep even for horses, so the hunter should be prepared for considerable physical effort.

Hunting season for Himalayan ibex starts in September and runs through mid-April. Usually, you don’t start hunting Himalayan ibex any earlier than mid-November, as the animals will be high due to high temperatures. December to January seems to be the best time as it is during the rut.

Sindh Ibex

The current habitat of Sindh Ibex in Pakistan is on the Baluchistan Plateau and its foothills in southwestern Pakistan. The animals are scattered throughout dry mountain ranges isolated by the lowlands of southern Baluchistan and Sindh provinces. There are two different areas where you can hunt Sindh ibex. One is the well-known Dureji area, where these hunts have been carried out for over three decades. The other is west of the Indus River in southern Pakistan and the adjoining Chagai Hills of southern Afghanistan. This area is relatively new but has the same trophy quality. Since the terrain is not too rugged or physically demanding and the local guides know the localities of the animals, it does not take hunters too long before they make their first contact with animals. Animals are in good numbers, and the trophy quality is excellent. When all these are combined, collecting a good-sized Sind Ibex takes only a day or two.

Mongolian Gobi/Altai (Siberian)Ibex

The Gobi ibex coloration is light brown without a lighter saddle. The horns are shorter and slimmer than those of the Siberian Ibex, but the cross ridges are often more prominent and closer together.

This subspecies of Siberian ibex is found in the Gobi Desert. Special areas are used for this hunt where there are large concentrations of ibex, and success is almost 100 percent. The plains surrounding the hunting areas are rich with Blacktail Gazelle, which is smaller than Whitetailed Gazelle.

The best value in ibex hunting is in the Altai Mountains. Historically, the largest ibex in Mongolia, measuring up to 53 inches (135 cm), comes from the Altai Mountains of Western Mongolia. Most ibex taken in the Altai Mountains are in the range of 40-45 inches (100-115 cm), with few trophies reaching record size of 50 inches (127 cm) each season. Success rates have remained right at 100 percent over the past ten years.

The quality of the trophy in the ibex hunt areas has been maintained at an exceptionally high level.

Shoulder height 37-42 inches (95-107 cm). Weight 175-220 pounds (80-100 kg), sometimes more. Females are much smaller. A large male ibex will be thick-legged and stoutly built, with a long, pointed chin beard and heavy, scimitar-shaped horns. The summer coat is short, becoming long, coarse, and brittle in winter with a dorsal crest and thick undercoat.

Nubian Ibex

The Nubian ibex is a goat species found in mountainous desert areas of northern and northeast Africa, and the Middle East. It was historically considered to be a subspecies of the Alpine ibex but is now considered to be a distinct species. The population found in the wild is estimated at 1,200 individuals. Huntable populations of Nubian ibex are found on game ranches in Texas in the US and a few game ranches in South Africa.