Kashmir Markhor

The Kashmir Markhor, Flare-horned Markhor, or the Pir Panjal Markhor (Capra falconeri cashmiriensis) is synonymous with the Astor Markhor which has large, flat horns, branching widely and then going up nearly straight with only a half turn, from a heavy, flat horns, twisted like a corkscrew. The Astor Markhor also has a tendency to sexually segregate outside the mating season because of multiple different mechanisms. The females are usually confined to cliffs with less forage coverage, while the males live in areas with a lot more forage coverage.

Etymology

The name is thought to be derived from Persian — a conjunction of mâr (مار, "snake, serpent") and the suffix khor (‏خور‎, "-eater"), interpreted to represent the animal's alleged ability to kill snakes, or as a reference to its corkscrew-like horns, which are somewhat reminiscent of coiling snakes.

In folklore the Markhor is believed to kill and eat serpents. Thereafter, while chewing the cud, a foam-like substance comes out of its mouth that drops on the ground and dries. This foam-like substance is sought after by the local people, who believe it is useful in extracting the poison from snakebites.

The Kashmir Markhor is the sub species of Markhor which is also known as Pir Panjal Markhor. These Markhors are found in the Chitral Valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan and Neelum Valley. These Markhors are hunted under community based hunting program. In past, according to survey conducted by CITES and WWF with help of Wildlife department KPK, only 300 Markhors were counted. Then government started community based hunting program and issued 4 hunting permits of Kashmir Markhor per year. Then the 80% of revenue collected through trophy hunting is donated to the local community, which encouraged them to stop poaching it as a source of food . This hunting program succeed and recently through a survey 4000 Markhors were counted. Its quite easy to hunt than Astor Markhor and Suleman Markhor but hunter must be in good physical strength. A 40” size of horn is considered representable.

In culture

The nominate species Markhor is the National animal of Pakistan. Whereas the Kashmir Markhor within Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PAK) it is the State bird of Azad Kashmir. It was one of the 72 animals featured on the World Wide Fund for Nature Conservation Coin Collection in 1976. Markhor marionettes are used in the Afghan puppet shows known as Buz-baz. The Markhor has also been mentioned in a Pakistani computer-animated film known as Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor.

The Markhor is present on the logo of the Inter-Services Intelligence.

Local names

• Balti: Reedakh
• Dogra (Dogri): Phau
• Persian, Pashto: مارخور markhor
• Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Kashmiri: मारख़ोर (Devanagari) مارخور (Nastaleeq) ਮਾਰਖ਼ੋਰ (Gurmukhi)
• Ladakhi: rache, rapoche (male) and rawache (female)
• Burushaski: boom (Markhor), boom haldin (male), giri haldin (female)
• Shina: boom mayaro, (male) and boom mayari (female)
• Brahui: rezkuh, matt (male) and hit, harat (female)
• Balochi: pachin, sara (male) and buzkuhi (female)
• Wakhi: youksh, ghashh (male) and moch (female)
• Khowar/Chitrali: shara (male) and maxhegh (female)

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