So, here are the rules: To answer, follow us on Twitter and tweet at us with the hashtag #mysteryanimal. For example:
Hey @PopSci, is the #mysteryanimal a baboon?
And then I might say "if you think that's a baboon, perhaps you are the baboon!" But probably not, because this is a positive environment and all guesses are welcome and also this is not a very common animal so guess whatever you want!
The first person to get it right wins! We'll retweet the answer from @PopSci, and also update this post so your amazing animal knowledge will be permanently etched onto the internet. Show your kids! Your dumb kids who thought that was a baboon!
Update: And the winner is... @Katy_Stephenson, who correctly guessed the answer within five minutes. Wow!
So, this lovely creature is the Bukharan markhor, a large goat species that happens to be the national animal of Pakistan. It's extremely endangered--only about 2,500 left in the world--but well-known due to its impressive beard and amazing horns. The horns vary based on subspecies; some have very tightly curled horns, some have flatter, more gently curled horns, but all are pretty great. Hello markhor!
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