East Caucasian tur born at the Moscow Zoo

On 13 May, an East Caucasian tur or Dagestan tur (Capra caucasica cylindricornis), a rare member of the hoofed animals family on the IUCN Red Data List, was born at the Moscow Zoo. Two hours later, he stood confidently on his feet and followed his mother around the enclosure.

The newborn tur, now weighing four kilograms, is a healthy and strong male who romps about the enclosure, actively communicates with other turs and climbs the Tur Hill higher and higher each day. So far, the baby drinks his mother’s milk, but he will soon start eating adult food, including hay, willow branches and special animal fodder.

Hoofed animals living in mountain areas mature quickly. Their babies must grow strong as soon as possible, learn to run, manoeuvre and easily climb cliffs because this is the only way they can avoid predators.

The new member of the tur family will eventually find his place and will take part in vigorous competitions together with other young males for mating rites. During these improvised training sessions, the animals will test their strength and learn to be more resilient.

East Caucasian turs have been living at the Moscow Zoo since the mid-20th century, and the legendary Tur Hill owes its name to them. The tur enclosure’s current inhabitants have been at the zoo since its renovation in 1997. The first male turs arrived here from Tallinn, followed by several others captured in the wild. 

Experts have managed to create a group of 18 turs who reproduce from May through July. After growing up, the young turs leave for other zoos in Russia and Europe. On 16 May, a pair of turs born in 2017 moved to the Lipetsk Zoo, whose managers are also planning to launch their own tur reproduction project.

For many years, the Moscow Zoo has been involved in European breeding guidelines for East Caucasian turs and a programme of the Eurasian Association of Zoos and Oceanariums to preserve hoofed animals in mountain areas. The wild tur population continues to decrease with every passing year, mostly because of illegal hunting and poaching. For centuries, the turs’ magnificent horns have made them a coveted hunting prize. Dwindling pastures and polluted feeding grounds are another factor impacting the tur population.

The uniquely beautiful East Caucasian turs have extremely sharp eyesight and can detect predators or humans several hundred metres away. They also have an interesting social structure. Each tur group has a strict hierarchy and is headed by a dominant alpha male who rules supreme over all other members. Females also have a hierarchy of their own, with the oldest female dominating the members of her group.