Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana) Fact Sheet: Diet & Feeding

Herbivores (Alkon et al. 2008)

• Consume grasses, forbs, and shrubs(from Alkon 2013 unless otherwise noted)
• In Egypt
  • Acacia raddiana
  • Lindenbergia sinaica
  • Lycium shawii
  • Capparis spinosa
  • Ficus pseudosycomorous
• In Sinai
  • Globularia arabica
  • Helianthum lipii
  • Ephedra foliata
  • Zilla spinosa
  • Thymus decussatus
  • Gymnocarpus decander
  • Echinops glaberrimus
• In Saudi Arabia (Habibi 1994; Habibi 1997)
  • Acacia ehrenbergiana, A. raddiana, and A. tortilis
  • Maerua crassifolia
  • Cymbopogon commutatus
  • Chrysopogon plumulosus
  • Panicum turgidum
  • Pennisetum setaceum

Browse on leaves and seed pods of Acacia spp (from Habibi 1994)

• Browsing behavior
• Stand on hind legs and stretch out neck to pluck leaves and pods from the tree
  • May climb trees to access food
  • Fallen leaves and pods also consumed
• Seldom eat stems or twigs of this plant

Lick or eat soil (from Habibi 1994)

• Presumably to supplement salt and mineral requirements

Image credit: © Pavel Buršik from BioLib. Some rights reserved.

Image credit: © orientalizing from Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Ibex often stand on their hind legs to access the lower leaves and seed pods of Acacia raddiana (top image). Once low-lying foods are exhausted, ibex may climb into lower branches (lower image).

Alkon (2013)
Alkon et al. (2008)
Habibi (1994)
Habibi (1997)