Ibex

the ancient name of the Boeuquetin or Steinbok of the Alps, an animal generally thought to be designated by the Heb. רָעֵל, yaél' (always in the plur., A.V. "wild goats"), represented as well known, and inhabiting the highest and most inaccessible steeps (see Job 31:1; Ps 104:18). Several species have been described by naturalists as inhabiting the different mountain ranges of the East (e.g. Arabia, Forskal, Descrip. Animr. praef. 4; Ruppell, Abyss. 1, 126; and Palestine, Seetzen, 18, 435), all of them slightly varying from the European form (Cepra ibex), and known among the Arabs by the general name of beden. Among the Sinai mountains the chase is pursued in much the same manner and under much the same circumstances as that of the chamois in the Alps and the Tyrol. The hunters exercise great vigilance and hardihood, taking vast circuits to get above their quarry, and especially aiming to surprise them at early day. Like most mountain quadrupeds that are gregarious, they have a leader who acts as sentinel, and gives the alarm on the occurrence of any suspicious sight, sound, or smell, when the whole flock makes off for a loftier peak. Their numbers are said to have much decreased of late years; for the Arabs report them so abundant fifty years ago, that if a stranger sought hospitality at a Bedouin's tent, and the owner had no sheep to kill, he would without hesitation take his gun and go confidently to shoot a beden. The flesh is excellent, with a flavor similar to that of venison. The Bedouins make water bottles of their skins, as of those of the domestic goats, and rings of their horns, which they wear on their thumbs. Dogs easily catch them when surprised in the plains, but in the abrupt precipices and chasms of the rocks the ibex is said to elude pursuit by the tremendous leaps, which it makes. It is likely that this species is identical with that which bears the name of poseng (Caprus aegagrius), and which inhabits all the loftier ranges that traverse Asia, from the Taurus and Caucasus to China. It is very robust, and much larger than any domestic goat; its general color iron-gray, shaded with brown with a black line down the back and across the withers, and a white patch on the crupper. The horns of the male are very large, compressed, and slightly diverging as they arch over the back; their front side makes an obtuse edge, and is marked by a series of knobs, with deep hollows between. SEE WILD GOAT; SEE HIND, etc.