HANGING BY THE CLIFF

The Himalaya's rarest wild goat is on the brink of local extinction

- RIYAZ AHMAD

One of the most striking sights in the wilds of the Kashmir Valley is the Pir Panjal—or the majestic Kashmir markhor, leaping over steep cliffs, from one rocky ledge to another. The mountain ungulate is among the largest wild goats in the world, weighing about 100 kg and sporting long, spiralling corkscrew horns and a flowing ruff on the chin, neck and shoulders. With brown coats, remarkable agility and a stocky build, they seem almost an extension of the mountain itself. To escape predators and any other danger or disturbance, females with young navigate slopes of almost 90 degrees— terrain that is sometimes hard to imagine.