Spanish Ibex or Spanish Goat, which are superbly well adapted to rugged terrain and extreme alpine and desert environments, are now a threatened species. It is found in such habitats in mountainous regions of southern Spain. The horns are massive and thick in the adults. The ibex was formerly subjected to intensive hunting because of the medicinal properties attributed to various parts of its body. Its number has diminished in most of the range, but over 3000 now live in the Gran Paradiso National Park, established in the Italian Alps in 1922 for its protection. About 5000 others live in other parts of the Alps.
