Abstract
Siberian ibex ( Capra sibirica ) remain poorly understood, as little is known about their ecology. We began studying ibex in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag, Mongolia to better understand the species’ ecological needs and threats. In this paper we report on home range and core range sizes. We captured 27 ibex and fit them with radio telemetry collars using drive nets for adults and juveniles ( n = 22) and hand captures for neonatal kids ( n = 5). We collected 1,029 locations from September 2003 to February 2007. Throughout the study, 9 ibex with 40+ fixes used mean, annual home range sizes of 3,115.5 ± 504.2 ha using the Minimum Convex Polygon method. Home ranges calculated using the fixed kernel method were smaller: 475.9 ± 14.7 ha for 50% kernel and 1,808.0 ± 88.1 ha for 95% kernel. Ibex from different demographic groups (males vs. females and juveniles vs. adults) used remarkably similar home and core ranges; we found no significant differences among any demographic groups. Although not quantified, ibex mostly restricted their activities to areas with steep cliffs and rocky outcrops and home ranges overlapped extensively.
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