Pyrenean Ibex - Extinction

Extinction

The Pyrenean Ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica), also called the Bucardo, was one of four subspecies of the Spanish ibex. The first to become extinct was the Portuguese ibex (Capra pyrenaica lusitanica) in 1892. The Pyrenean ibex was the second, with the last individual, a female called Cecilia, found dead in 2000.

In the Middle Ages, Pyrenean ibex were very abundant in the Pyrenees region but decreased rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries due to hunting pressure. In the second half of the 20th century only a small population survived in the National Odessa Park situated in the Spanish Central Pyrenees.

Competition with domestic and wild ungulates also contributed the extinction of the Pyrenean Ibex. Much of the range of the Spanish Ibex was shared with sheep, domestic goats, cattle and horses, especially in summer months when it was in high mountain pastures. This led to interspecific competition (Fandos, 1991; Martínez, 1992) and overgrazing, which affected the ibex particularly in dry years. In addition, the introduction of alochtonous wild ungulate species in areas occupied by the ibex (e.g. Fallow Deer and Mouflon in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park) increased the grazing pressure, as well as the risk of transmission of both native and exotic diseases (Fandos & Reig,1992).

The last natural Pyrenean ibex, a female named Celia, was found dead on January 6, 2000, next to a fallen tree. Although her cause of death is known, the reason for the extinction of the subspecies as a whole is a mystery. Some hypotheses include the inability to compete with other species for food, infections and diseases, and poaching. The Pyrenean ibex became the first taxon ever to become "un-extinct", for a period of seven minutes in January 2009, when a cloned female Ibex was born alive and survived a short time, before dying from lung defects.