domestic goats. Early in the season the males and females may be found together on the open grassy patches and clear slopes among the forest. During the summer, the males remain in the forest, while the females generally climb to the highest rocky ridges above. In the spring, the females stay closer to cliffs in areas with more rock coverage to provide protection for their offspring. The males stay in higher elevated areas with more access to vegetation for foraging so as to improve their body's condition. Predators Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) are the main predators of the markhor. The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) has been reported to prey upon young markhor. The markhor possess keen eyesight and a strong sense of smell to detect nearby predators. Markhor are very aware of their surroundings and on high alert; in exposed areas, they are quick to spot and flee from predators. Taxonomy Aegoceros (Capra) Falconeri was the scientific name proposed by Johann Andreas Wagner in 1839 based on a female specimen from the Indian Himalayas. Multiple subspecies have been recognized, often based on horn configuration, but it has been shown that this can vary greatly even within the same population confined to one mountain range. Astor markhor or Astore markhor (C. f. falconeri) Bukharan markhor (C. f. heptneri) Kabul markhor (C. f. megaceros) Kashmir markhor (C. f. cashmiriensis) Sulaiman markhor (C. f. jerdoni) Astor markhor The Astor markhor has large, flat horns, branching widely and then going up nearly straight with only a half turn. It is synonymous with Capra falconeri cashmiriensis or Pir Panjal markhor, which has heavy, flat horns, twisted like a corkscrew. The Astor markhor also has a tendency to sexually segregate outside the mating season because of multiple different mechanisms. The females are usually confined to cliffs with less forage coverage, while the males live in areas with a lot more forage coverage. Within Afghanistan, the Astor markhor is limited to the east in the high and mountainous monsoon forests of Laghman and Nuristan. In India, this subspecies is restricted to a portion of the Pir Panjal range in southwestern Jammu and Kashmir. Throughout this range, Astor markhor populations are scattered, starting east of the Banihal Pass (50 km from the Chenab River) on the Jammu–Srinagar highway westward to the disputed border with