---
title: "Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana) | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "Relatively small desert ibex of the Middle East and northeast Africa, a true cliff dweller whose males carry ridged, backward-arching horns up to 122 centimeters long."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/nubian-ibex-1.webp"
published: "2026-09-06"
updated: "2026-10-12"
---
# Nubian Ibex (*Capra nubiana*)
> **Status**: Checked against 4 sources, listed under Sources below.
> **Tagline**: Relatively small desert ibex of the Middle East and northeast Africa, a true cliff dweller whose males carry ridged, backward-arching horns up to 122 centimeters long.
> **Soundtrack Vibe**: Anatolian Rock & Levantine Psych // Erkin Koray, "Cemalim"
> **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/3lknNPO6RMGM9FMdkEHtBC) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-k_Fr67bPQ)
> **Vibe Match**: Driving fuzz-guitar grooves for the rut, usually in October, when males often crash their horns together, ramming rather than stabbing, to overpower a rival.
## Biological Superpowers & Stats
- **Taxonomy**: *Capra nubiana*
- **Danger Level**: Low
- **Conservation Status**: Vulnerable ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-2.rlts.t3796a22143385.en))
- **Superpower**: Generally keeps to the most remote, highest, and steepest cliffs, where staying near the edge lowers the risk of predation, and typically comes down only to graze.
- **Habitat**: Steep, rocky desert mountains, gorges, and canyons from Egypt and Sudan to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman
- **Diet**: Herbs, shrubs, and tree foliage (especially acacia), with a preference for cadaba and camphorweed, and occasionally grass
- **Tags**: mammal, desert, herbivore, hoofed, montane, horns
## Natural History & Behavior
In Israel's Avedat Canyon, Nubian ibex mothers have been seen doing something that a 2007 Animal Diversity Web account calls unique among caprines, the group that holds the wild goats and sheep: they leave their kids together in a canyon and come back often to feed them. The **Nubian Ibex** (*Capra nubiana*) is a relatively small ibex and a true cliff dweller, found in small pockets of the Middle East and northeast Africa.
Males average about 62.5 kilograms and stand roughly 75 centimeters at the shoulder, more than twice the weight of females, which average 26.5 kilograms. Both sexes carry horns, but a male's are long, slender, ridged, and backward-arching, and can reach up to 122 centimeters, more than three times the 36 centimeters of a female's. In the care of humans, Nubian ibex have a median life expectancy of about nine years.
> **The Canyon Nursery** Females leave their kids unattended in nursery groups with many other kids in a steep-walled canyon, and visit often to feed them. The same account says the nursery is most likely an accidental trap: the kids have fallen in and cannot climb its walls. They stay until they are mature enough to follow along on the steep cliffs.
## Weapons for the Rut
Both sexes use their horns for fighting, for sexual selection, and to defend territory, and they fight by ramming rather than puncturing. During the rut, usually in October, the strongest males compete for the right to breed, often in forceful fights where they crash their horns together and try to overpower their opponents. Sparring to settle dominance seldom results in serious injury. Older males are solitary for most of the year, then join the females during the rut and try to drive off other males.
## Life on the Rock Face
Nubian ibex live in small pockets from Egypt east of the Nile through Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman, generally on the most remote, highest, and steepest cliffs, from sea level up to 3,000 meters. Staying close to a cliff edge lowers the risk of predation, and they typically come down the mountain only to graze. The main diet is herbs, shrubs, and tree foliage, especially acacia, with a preference for cadaba and camphorweed, and they drink water every day if it is available.
## Grooming Birds and Threats
Tristram's grackles peck at the hides of Nubian ibex, and have been known to groom them in a way that benefits both, eating insects and parasites on their skin. The threats vary by place: competition with livestock and feral camels in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, habitat loss and degradation, and hunting, which probably poses the greatest threat in Yemen. The IUCN's 2020 assessment lists the Nubian ibex as Vulnerable.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What actually hunts a Nubian ibex, and how does it fight back?
Leopards, wolves, striped hyenas, and humans are its probable predators, and young ibex may also be taken by golden eagles and eagle owls. Staying near a cliff edge lowers its risk of being caught. If a predator gets close anyway, the ibex rises onto its hind legs and points its horns at the threat. *(Source: [Tomsen, J. 2007]())*
### Why do birds peck at Nubian ibex?
Tristram's grackles, birds about the size of a blackbird, land on an ibex's back and pick at its hide, which gives the ibex an unusual way of getting groomed. In a two-year study in Israel, only one bird at a time cleaned an ibex, and no competition for an ibex was seen. *(Source: [Yosef & Yosef 1991]())*
### How endangered is the Nubian ibex?
The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says fewer than 5,000 mature ibex likely live in their native habitat, in small pockets from Egypt and Sudan to Oman. Habitat loss and degradation, competition with livestock and feral camels, and hunting are among its threats, and shifting waterholes are likely a major influence in Egypt. Because the range includes so many countries, protecting it takes a cooperative effort between them. *(Source: [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance]())*
### Can you tell how old a male Nubian ibex is from its horns?
Roughly. A male's horns carry annual rings on the back, one ring a year. The rings grow 12 to 20 centimeters during the first five years of life, then 2 to 4 centimeters a year after that. Drought or disease can leave an individual with shorter rings. *(Source: [Tomsen, J. 2007]())*
## Sources
1. [Tomsen, J. (2007). Capra nubiana (Nubian ibex). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]()
2. [Nubian Ibex. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.]()
3. [Ross et al. (2020). Capra nubiana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T3796A22143385.]()
4. [Yosef & Yosef (1991). Tristram's Grackles Groom Nubian Ibex. The Wilson Bulletin.]()
*Published September 6, 2026. Last updated October 12, 2026.*
```json
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@graph": [
{
"@type": "Article",
"@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/nubian-ibex/#article",
"isPartOf": {
"@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/#website"
},
"headline": "Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana) | AnimalTracks.wiki",
"description": "Relatively small desert ibex of the Middle East and northeast Africa, a true cliff dweller whose males carry ridged, backward-arching horns up to 122 centimeters long.",
"image": [
"https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/nubian-ibex-1.webp"
],
"datePublished": "2026-09-06",
"dateModified": "2026-10-12",
"author": [
{
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "AnimalTracks.wiki Editorial Team",
"url": "https://animaltracks.wiki"
}
],
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/#organization",
"name": "AnimalTracks.wiki",
"url": "https://animaltracks.wiki",
"logo": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/icon-512.png"
}
},
"mainEntityOfPage": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/nubian-ibex/",
"citation": [
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"name": "Capra nubiana (Nubian ibex)",
"url": "https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Capra_nubiana/",
"author": "Tomsen, J.",
"datePublished": "2007",
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan"
}
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"name": "Nubian Ibex",
"url": "https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/nubian-ibex",
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance"
}
},
{
"@type": "ScholarlyArticle",
"name": "Capra nubiana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T3796A22143385",
"url": "https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-2.rlts.t3796a22143385.en",
"author": "Ross et al.",
"datePublished": "2020",
"isPartOf": {
"@type": "Periodical",
"name": "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species"
},
"identifier": "doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-2.rlts.t3796a22143385.en"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"name": "Tristram's Grackles Groom Nubian Ibex",
"url": "https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9696&context=wilson_bulletin",
"author": "Yosef & Yosef",
"datePublished": "1991",
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "The Wilson Bulletin"
}
}
],
"about": {
"@type": "Taxon",
"name": "Nubian Ibex",
"scientificName": "Capra nubiana",
"description": "Generally keeps to the most remote, highest, and steepest cliffs, where staying near the edge lowers the risk of predation, and typically comes down only to graze."
}
},
{
"@type": "FAQPage",
"@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/nubian-ibex/#faq",
"mainEntity": [
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "What actually hunts a Nubian ibex, and how does it fight back?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Leopards, wolves, striped hyenas, and humans are its probable predators, and young ibex may also be taken by golden eagles and eagle owls. Staying near a cliff edge lowers its risk of being caught. If a predator gets close anyway, the ibex rises onto its hind legs and points its horns at the threat.",
"citation": {
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"name": "Capra nubiana (Nubian ibex)",
"url": "https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Capra_nubiana/",
"author": "Tomsen, J.",
"datePublished": "2007",
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan"
}
}
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Why do birds peck at Nubian ibex?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Tristram's grackles, birds about the size of a blackbird, land on an ibex's back and pick at its hide, which gives the ibex an unusual way of getting groomed. In a two-year study in Israel, only one bird at a time cleaned an ibex, and no competition for an ibex was seen.",
"citation": {
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"name": "Tristram's Grackles Groom Nubian Ibex",
"url": "https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9696&context=wilson_bulletin",
"author": "Yosef & Yosef",
"datePublished": "1991",
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "The Wilson Bulletin"
}
}
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "How endangered is the Nubian ibex?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says fewer than 5,000 mature ibex likely live in their native habitat, in small pockets from Egypt and Sudan to Oman. Habitat loss and degradation, competition with livestock and feral camels, and hunting are among its threats, and shifting waterholes are likely a major influence in Egypt. Because the range includes so many countries, protecting it takes a cooperative effort between them.",
"citation": {
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"name": "Nubian Ibex",
"url": "https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/nubian-ibex",
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance"
}
}
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Can you tell how old a male Nubian ibex is from its horns?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Roughly. A male's horns carry annual rings on the back, one ring a year. The rings grow 12 to 20 centimeters during the first five years of life, then 2 to 4 centimeters a year after that. Drought or disease can leave an individual with shorter rings.",
"citation": {
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"name": "Capra nubiana (Nubian ibex)",
"url": "https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Capra_nubiana/",
"author": "Tomsen, J.",
"datePublished": "2007",
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan"
}
}
}
}
]
},
{
"@type": "MusicRecording",
"name": "Cemalim",
"byArtist": {
"@type": "MusicGroup",
"name": "Erkin Koray"
},
"genre": "Anatolian Rock & Levantine Psych",
"url": "https://open.spotify.com/track/3lknNPO6RMGM9FMdkEHtBC"
}
]
}
```