[7] They have the highest maximum shoulder height among the species in the genus Capra, but is surpassed in length and weight by the Siberian ibex.

[8] The coat is of a grizzled, light brown to black colour, and is smooth and short in summer, while growing longer and thicker in winter.

They typically inhabit shrub forests made up primarily of oaks (Quercus ilex), pines (Pinus gerardiana), and junipers (Juniperus macropoda).

Their diets shift seasonally: in the spring and summer periods they graze, but turn to browsing in winter, sometimes standing on their hind legs to reach high branches.

[14] Aegoceros (Capra) Falconeri was the scientific name proposed by Johann Andreas Wagner in 1839 based on a female specimen from the Indian Himalayas.

[15] 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.

It is synonymous with Capra falconeri cashmiriensis or Pir Panjal markhor, which has heavy, flat horns, twisted like a corkscrew.

[18] Within Afghanistan, the Astor markhor is limited to the east in the high and mountainous monsoon forests of Laghman and Nuristan.

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 Pakistan.

Recent surveys indicate it still occurs in catchments of the Limber and Lachipora Rivers in the Jhelum Valley Forest Division, and around Shupiyan to the south of Srinagar.

[2] Although the Bukharan markhor or Tajik markhur[19] (Capra falconeri heptneri) formerly lived in most of the mountains stretching along the north banks of the Upper Amu Darya and the Pyanj Rivers from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan, two to three scattered populations now occur in a greatly reduced distribution.

It is limited to the region between lower Pyanj and the Vakhsh Rivers near Kulyab in Tajikistan (near 38°N 70°E / 38°N 70°E / 38; 70), and in the Kugitangtau Range in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (around 37°30′N 66°40′E / 37.500°N 66.667°E / 37.500; 66.667).

It now lives the most inaccessible regions of its once wider range in the mountains of Kapissa and Kabul Provinces, after having been driven from its original habitat by intensive poaching.

One study suggested that 35.7% of captive markhors in the analysis (ranging from three different zoos) had mitochondrial DNA from domestic goats.

Domestic livestock have an advantage over wild herbivores since the density of their herds often pushes their competitors out of the best grazing areas, and decreased forage availability has a negative effect on female fertility.

Poaching, with its indirect impacts as disturbance, increasing fleeing distances and resulting reduction of effective habitat size, is by far the most important factor threatening the survival of the markhor populations.

[31] In British India, markhor were considered to be among the most challenging game species, because of the danger involved in stalking and pursuing them in high, mountainous terrain.

[32] According to Arthur Brinckman in his The Rifle in Cashmere, "a man who is a good walker will never wish for any finer sport than ibex or markhoor shooting".

Unlike the aoudad, blackbuck, nilgai, ibex, and axis deer, however, markhor have not escaped in sufficient numbers to establish free-range wild populations in Texas.

Though these reserves exist to protect and conserve the markhor population, the regulations are poorly enforced making poaching common as well as habitat destruction.

[2][11] Although markhors still face ongoing threats, recent studies have shown considerable success with regards to the conservation approach.