RONDA IBEX
RONDA
The Ronda mountains are situated north of Malaga in the Adalucian region of Spain. The hills in this area are pretty modest by European standards the highest peak is 1,919m: still well over 500m higher than Ben Nevis. But what they lack in height they more than make up for in magnificent Iberian spectacle.
The landscape here is a mixture of steeply rising limestone buttresses, weathered, jagged formations and deep valleys. Look up and you‘ll see eagles and griffon vultures circling on currents of warm air. Set out on one of the local walks and you‘ll be strolling through ancient olive groves with sheep and goats grazing on the hillside. It is a rural idyll, high enough to be cooled by the breeze off the Mediterranean to the south.
DESCRIPTION
The smallest type of Spanish ibex with the smallest horns. Overall color is a light brown. The horns resemble those of an Alpine ibex, typically growing upward in a Vshape, then backward with a spiral turn of only 90 degrees. Horn thickness is constant for half the length, then decreases gradually to the broomed tips. While this is the typical Ronda horn conformation, other horn shapes may be found in this region and even in the same herd.
