At Nainital Zoo, This Wild Goat Species Kills And Eats Snakes

GB Pant High Altitude Zoo is one of the well-maintained zoos in Nainital, Kumaon, Uttarakhand. Many wild animals of different species from not only India but even foreign countries are protected here. One of these animals believed to be native to Pakistan, Markhor is also preserved here. For those who don’t know, Markhor is Pakistan’s national animal, also known as the screw-horn or screw-horned goat.

Markhor is one of the major attractions for the tourists in zoo. In the classical Persian language, Markhor means snake eater. As per the folklore, this screw-horned goat is reportedly capable of killing snakes with its spiral-shaped horns. After killing the serpents, these goats eat them. There is, however, no concrete evidence to prove this statement. In an interview with Local 18 Uttarakhand, the zoo biologist of the GB Pant High Altitude Zoo, Anuj talked more about it.

According to the zoo biologist, Markhor is the national animal of Pakistan and a highland mountain goat. He further said that this animal is found in the high-altitude Himalayan regions of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. As per Anuj, from time to time, the zoo initiates an exchange program of animals with Darjeeling Zoo.

In 2014, a pair of Markhor was brought from Darjeeling Zoo in the GB Pant High Altitude Zoo. Upon shifting the pair to the Nainital Zoo, the female Markhor died. After that, there was a change in the exchange policy of these animals and only a female Markhor was brought to Nainital from the Darjeeling Zoo under this programme. Anuj added that snake is the most preferred food of the Markhor species and upon spotting the serpents, they kill them with their strong hooves.

According to the United Nations website, The markhor was categorised as near threatened in 2014. It is also on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The greatest threats to the survival of this species are habitat loss, illegal hunting, including poaching and climate change. The number of mature individuals of these species in the world is approximately 5,700. The markhor has long (up to 63 inches) corkscrew-shaped horns.