chamois

The chamois (English pronunciation: /'faemwn), Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope native to the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Gran Sasso region of the central Italian Apennines, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand. Chamois are strictly protected animals under the European Habitats Directive.

There are two species of chamois in the genus Rupicapra. In the pyrenees the type species, R. rupicapra is replaced by the pyrenean chamois, R. pyrenaica. Chamois are in the goat-antelope subfamily (Caprinae) of the family Bovidae, along with sheep and goats.