Arabian tahr  (Hemitragus jayakari)

Unlike other tahr species, Arabian tahr are not found in large herds (3); they are either solitary or found in small groups of a female and a kid or a male and female with a kid (2). In contrast to most members of the Bovidae family, male Arabian tahr demonstrate territorial behaviour (3), involving scratching of the soil with their hooves and marking it with dung or urine, ‘horning' vegetation, and rubbing glandular secretions from the chest onto rocks as a form of scent-marking (2). Rather than forming large seasonal rutting herds, reproduction appears to occur opportunistically in small, dispersed family units (7). There are reports of births occurring almost throughout the year, and gestation lasts from 140 to 145 days (2).

The Arabian tahr is primarily a browser that feeds on leaves, fruit and seeds of a range of trees, shrubs and grasses. These tahr are also highly dependent upon a regular supply of water, having to drink every two to three days during hot summers, and will travel to new areas outside their normal ranges when water sources dry up (7).