The national animal of Pakistan is Markhor. They are actually wild goats, the name Markhor is the combination of two Persian words i.e. Mar: means Snakes and Khor: means eater. Some old traditions suggests that the Markhor has the ability to kill and eat the snakes, while the biologists think that its name come from their corkscrewing horns which look like snakes cuddling.

Facts about the Markhor:

Markhor is a giant species of untamed (wild) goat. Markhors belong to Bovidae Family and the genus is Capra which are usually found in the north eastern Asia, northern and central West Pakistan, southern Tajikistan, Kashmir and Himalayas. Markhors bear a coat that is usually light brown to light black color and become thinner in summer because of shedding of fur and grows back in winter. Male Markhors boast large coiled horns that can be up to 165 cm while in females the horns are not more than 25 cm.

Why is Markhor the National Animal of Pakistan?

The fact here is that the majority of the population of Markhors can be found in Pakistan. Because of excessive hunting the total toll of Markhor populations lies between 2000-3000 (est). To conserve the population of this rare so called wild goat it is opted as the national animal of Pakistan.