Alpine ibex
Capra ibex Linnaeus, 1758
The alpine ibex (Capra ibex), also called the Ibex, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla, tribe Caprini and genus Capra. It is a large, terrestrial, diurnal herbivore with a representative adult body mass of 85 kg.
Quick facts about the alpine ibex
Gestation lasts 169 days, with reported values from 164 to 170 days, and sexual maturity is reached at 2.8 years. The alpine ibex is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 20.9 years, up to 22.3 years.
- Weight
- 75 kg – 85.2 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 20.9 years – 22.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- mountainsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 164 days – 170 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.18src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.24 years – 3.44 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.8src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the alpine ibex
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the alpine ibex live?
Not recorded
What is the alpine ibex?
The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex), also known as the steinbock, is a European species of goat which lives in the Alps. It is one of ten species in the genus Capra, and its closest living relative is the Iberian ibex. The Alpine ibex is a sexually dimorphic species; males are much larger and carry much larger, longer horns than females. Its coat is brownish-grey. Alpine ibexes tend to live in steep, rough terrain and open alpine meadows. They can be found at elevations as high as 3,300 m (10,800 ft) and their sharp hooves allow them to scale the steep slopes and cliffs of their mountainous habitat.
Alpine ibexes primarily feed on grass and are active throughout the year. Although they are social animals, adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. During the breeding season, males use their long horns to fight for access to females. Ibexes have few predators but may succumb to parasites and diseases.
By the 19th century, human hunters extirpated the Alpine ibex from most of its range, driving it near to extinction. It went through a population bottleneck of fewer than 100 individuals, all living in Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy. Despite its ensuing very low genetic diversity across populations, the species has been successfully reintroduced to parts of its historical range. As of 2020, the IUCN lists the species as being of least concern.
From the Wikipedia article “Alpine ibex” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alpine_ibex&oldid=1376229914), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the alpine ibex endangered?
The alpine ibex is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the alpine ibex classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusCapra
- SpeciesCapra ibex Linnaeus, 1758
Other names and names in other languages (54)
- IbexEnglish
- IbexEnglish
- Alpynse SteenbokAfrikaans
- وعل ألبيArabic
- mueyu alpínAsturian
- Capra ibexAzerbaijani
- Alp dağ keçisiAzerbaijani
- OipmstoabockBavarian
- Алпийски козирогBulgarian
- ཁབ་ར།Tibetan
- Kragvouc'h an AlpoùBreton
- Cabra dels AlpsCatalan
- kozorožec horskýCzech
- AlpestenbukDanish
- AlpensteinbockGerman
- Alpen-SteinbockGerman
- Gemeiner SteinbockGerman
- Αλπικός αίγαγροςGreek
- IbeksoEsperanto
- Íbice de los AlpesSpanish
- Alpi kaljukitsEstonian
- Alpetar basahuntzBasque
- alppivuohiFinnish
- Bouquetin des AlpesFrench
- יעל האלפיםHebrew
- alpesi kőszáli kecskeHungarian
- Stambecco AlpinoItalian
- Stambecco delle AlpiItalian
- アイベックスJapanese
- アルプスアイベックスJapanese
- ალპური თხაGeorgian
- 아이벡스Korean
- 알파인아이벡스Korean
- Alpinis ožysLithuanian
- AlpesteinbukkNorwegian Bokmål
- AlpensteenbokDutch
- BoquetinOccitan
- koziorożec alpejskiPolish
- ÍbexPortuguese
- CapricornRomansh
- Capra alpinăRomanian
- ИбексRussian
- КозерогRussian
- Альпийский горный козёлRussian
- Alpski kozorogSlovenian
- Алпски козорог / Alpski kozorogSerbian
- StenbockSwedish
- AlpstenbockSwedish
- இபெக்சு காட்டாடுTamil
- Alp KeçisiTurkish
- تاغ ئۆچكىسىUyghur
- Козел альпійськийUkrainian
- 羱羊Chinese
- 阿爾卑斯羱羊Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the alpine ibex
Other species in the same genus Capra.
Wild goat
Capra aegagrus
Markhor
Capra falconeri
Nubian ibex
Capra nubiana
Siberian ibex
Capra sibirica
Iberian ibex
Capra pyrenaica
Tur
Capra caucasica
CompareAlpine ibex vs Wild goatAlpine ibex vs MarkhorAlpine ibex vs Nubian ibexAlpine ibex vs Siberian ibex
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is an alpine ibex?
The alpine ibex has a representative adult body mass of 85 kg. The lowest value reported by our sources is 75 kg.
What does the alpine ibex eat?
The alpine ibex is a herbivore.
Is the alpine ibex endangered?
No. The alpine ibex is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does an alpine ibex live?
The alpine ibex has a lifespan of 20.9 years, with values up to 22.3 years reported by our sources.
How long is the alpine ibex gestation period?
Gestation in the alpine ibex lasts 169 days, with reported values from 164 to 170 days.
When does the alpine ibex reach sexual maturity?
The alpine ibex reaches sexual maturity at 2.8 years, with reported values from 2.2 to 3.4 years.
What kind of animal is the alpine ibex?
The alpine ibex is a mammal in the family Bovidae and order Artiodactyla. It is a large, terrestrial, diurnal herbivore.
Who named the alpine ibex?
The alpine ibex, Capra ibex, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Alpine ibex (Capra ibex). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/alpine-ibex
“Alpine ibex (Capra ibex).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/alpine-ibex.
@misc{alpine_ibex_2026,
title = {Alpine ibex (Capra ibex)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/alpine-ibex},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}