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Markhor Hunting

The markhor is a large Capra species, a genus of mammals, hollow-horned ruminants. The name is thought to be derived from Persian — a conjunction of mâr and the suffix khor , interpreted to represent the animal's alleged ability to kill snakes, or as a reference to its corkscrew-like horns, which are somewhat reminiscent of coiling snakes. Markhors have amazing horns: long and heavy, they are twisted like a corkscrew. The left horn is twisted to the right, and the right one — to the left. Males have longer hair on the chin, throat, chest and shanks. Markhors inhabit Western Himalayas, Kashmere, Tibet and Afghanistan, also the mountain ranges along Pyang river, Kugitang Tau range, Babatag and Darvaz mountains in Tajikistan. The animals prefer mountainous areas at the elevations of 1600-11500 feet (500-3500 meters).There are several subspecies with different types of horns.

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“The sheep rifle should above all be portable, handy, and relatively light, as the sheep hunter carries a rifle a lot more than he shoots it.”
J. O’Connor

MARKHOR HUNTING

Six subspecies of Markhor are recognised. The clubs register five of them, however the hunt is open only for several species. For some of them it is necessary to plan your hunt well in advance as there are only a couple licenses issued each year. Hunting for markhor is a classical mountain hunt by spot and stalk.