Tahr

Tahr (also known as a mountain goat
Himalayan Tahr
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Caprinae In part
Genus
Hemitragus Nilgiritragus Arabitragus

Tahrs are three species of large Asian ungulates related to the wild goat. Until recently the three species were believed to be closely related and were placed in a single genus, Hemitragus. Genetic studies have proved that the three tahrs are not as closely related as thought earlier. Now they are considered as members of three separate monotypic genera; Hemitragus is now reserved for the Himalayan Tahr, Nilgiritragus for the Nilgiri Tahr, and Arabitragus for the Arabian Tahr.

While the Arabian Tahr of Oman and the Nilgiri Tahr of South India both have small ranges and are considered endangered, the Himalayan Tahr remains relatively widespread in the Himalayas, and has been introduced to the Southern Alps of New Zealand, It is hunted recreationally. There is also a population on Table Mountain in South Africa, descended from a pair of tahrs which escaped from a zoo in the 1930s, but most of these have been culled.

The meat, in New Zealand, is considered to be of a very high standard. The extreme cost of hunting tahr with a guide, has made it a noble game animal in New Zealand. Living in the alps, the tahr prefer to be above snow level through winter. They come down to feed at night when it is safer.

They are magificant animals which can stand on sheer slopes, a feat that most animals and humans could not endure. Having the ability to leap 5-10 metres along a cliff face is a sight to see.