Pyrenean Ibex

The Pyrenean Ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) is an ibex, one of the two extinct subspecies of Spanish Ibex. The subspecies once ranged across the Pyrenees in France and Spain and the surrounding area, including the Basque Country, Navarre, north Aragon and north Catalonia. A few hundred years ago they were numerous, but by 1900 their numbers had fallen to fewer than 100. From 1910 onwards, their numbers never rose above 40, and the species were found only in a small part of Ordesa National Park, in Huesca.

The last natural Pyrenean Ibex, a female named Celia, was found dead on January 6, 2000, apparently killed by a falling tree. Although her cause of death is known, the reason for the extinction of the subspecies as a whole is a mystery. Some hypotheses include the inability to compete with other species for food, infections and diseases, and poaching. The Pyrenean Ibex became the first species ever to become "un-extinct" when, for a period of seven minutes in January 2009, a cloned female Ibex was born alive before dying from breathing difficulties.

The diet of the Pyrenean Ibex consisted of grass, herbs and lichens. The ibex was paraxonic, with the plane of symmetry of each foot passing between the third and fourth digits. The third and fourth digits were quite large and bore most of the weight.