The chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Gran Sasso region of the central Italian Apennines, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand. Chamois are strictly protected animals under the European Habitats Directive.
There are two sp...
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The chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Gran Sasso region of the central Italian Apennines, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand. Chamois are strictly protected animals under the European Habitats Directive.
There are two species of chamois in the genus Rupicapra: R. rupicapra (the type species) is replaced in the Pyrenees by the Pyrenean chamois, R. pyrenaica. The chamois are in the goat-antelope subfamily (Caprinae) of the family Bovidae, along with sheep and goats.
The usual pronunciation in English is /ˈʃæmwʌ/ ("shamwa"), but when referring to its leather (and in New Zealand often for the animal itself) it is pronounced /ˈʃæmɨ/ ("shammy"), and sometimes spelt "chamy". As with many quarry species, the plural is the same as the singular.
The English name is...
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