Alpex

Alpex are a type of goat that used to live in most of the hills and mountains of western Phaldorya. Presently it is commonly domesticated in the Ahrmur regions but can be found wild in slopes of Danu's crown.

Appearance

The Alpex is a rather robust goat, with a height at withers usually between eighty centimetres and one meter. The head is fairly short and broad, with long curved horns that represent the main character of sexual dimorphism. They are longer, reaching one metre in length in the longest specimens, and have more pronounced rings in the males, while they have barely noticeable rings and are no more than thirty-five centimetres long in the females. The rings are formed during the winter season and allow the age of the individuals to be determined. The coat is soft, dark brown in colour and tends to grow downwards, from it a fibre is obtained which, when properly treated, produces the wool typically used for clothing by Ahrmur people. Like all ruminants, it has three prestomachs and a stomach to enable it to digest plant fibres, feeding mainly on grass. The tail has a thick base in which there is an adipose deposit serving as a reserve for periods when food is scarce.

Social life

Alpexes are social animals that tend to live in family groups. A typical group consists of an alpha male, a female and their offspring. They carefully guard their territory for intruders, producing different vocalisations in situations of distress and danger.

Reproduction and mating

Female alpexes ovulate after mating and although they can mate at any time of the year, the greater availability of food in the spring season leads to a higher concentration of mating in the autumn, as gestation lasts between two hundred and fifteen and two hundred and seventeen days. Young males are mature for mating between two and three years of age, females reach maturity earlier but mating in individuals that have not reached seventy percent of their adult weight is often unsuccessful. Young males have a complex two stage mating ritual, in the first stage they court a female with characteristic clucking sounds, once they have the female's attention they fight against all potential rivals using their horns and neck muscles until they subdue their opponents, if victorious they leave with the female and form a new family unit for life. As a sign of rejection, the female alpex will often spit toward the young male.

Hygiene

Alpex have great care of their hygiene. Each family group has a common dung pile situated in an area were they don't graze. This behaviour grants them a good protection from internal parasites.

Domestication and uses

The Ahrmur people have long since domesticated the Alpex, which are well adapted to the rocky environment of their regions. They are mainly bred for fibre production, being sheared once a year in late spring. A male can usually produce about four kilos of fibre per year while females, being slightly smaller, can produce between two and three kilos. The stronger, more docile males are also used as agile, sure-footed mounts on narrow mountain trails. Often there is a very close relationship between the farmer and the animals being reared, so it is only in times of famine that surplus animals are slaughtered, also to minimise the suffering of the animals themselves.

Scientific Name

Capra Alpex

Geographic Distribution

• Danu's crown

Related Ethnicities

• Ahrmur