International Day of the Markhor
24 May 2026 — Leap by leap, up to the highest star-peak! I am the markhor.
The markhor (Capra falconeri) is one of the most striking wild goats, famous for its long, corkscrew-shaped horns, which can exceed a metre in males. It lives on steep mountain slopes in Central and South Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and it is the national animal of Pakistan. Its name is often explained by Persian words meaning “snake-eater”, though this interpretation is disputed. Hunting and habitat loss once pushed the species toward extinction, but local communities, curbs on poaching and regulated trophy hunting have helped numbers recover. As a result, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List moved it from “Endangered” to “Near Threatened”. The observance on 24 May, established by the UN General Assembly, draws attention to mountain ecosystems and the people who share them with wildlife. It falls on a fixed date and is not tied to the lunar calendar.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver markhor goat made of luminous dots and fine connecting lines, like a constellation, with long spiralling horns
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