[2] Capra aegagrus was the first scientific name proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777 for the wild goat populations of the Caucasus and Taurus Mountains.

In Turkey, the wild goat occurs in the Aegean, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Southeastern and the Eastern Anatolia Regions up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft) in the Taurus and Anti-Taurus Mountains.

[citation needed] In the Caucasus, it inhabits montane forests in the river basins of Andi Koysu and its tributaries in Dagestan, Chechnya and Georgia up to 2,700 m (8,900 ft).

[5][6] In Armenia, wild goats were recorded in the Zangezur Mountains, in Khosrov State Reserve, and in highlands of the Syunik Province during field surveys from 2006 to 2007.

Wild goat populations are threatened foremost by poaching, habitat loss due to logging, and competition with domestic livestock for food resources.