THE IBEX, OR BOQUETIN, (Capra Ibex,)
Is a Wild Goat, which inhabits the Pyrenean mountains, the Alps, and the highest mountains of Greece. He is of an admirable swiftness; his head is armed with two long, knotted horns, inclining backwards; his hair is rough, and of a deep brown colour. The male only has a beard, and the female is less than the male. This animal skips from rock to rock, and often, when pursued, leaps down enormous precipices, and is said to bend his head between his fore legs while springing, so as to break his fall, by alighting partly on his horns. The Ibex has been known to turn on the incautious huntsman, and tumble him down the precipice, unless he has time to lie down, and let the animal pass over him.