Wild goats or mountain goats, a symbol of the eastern Turkish province of Tunceli, which they have called home for centuries, are now roaming the mountains without fear. For the first time in a long while, some 100 wild goats were caught on camera while traveling in a herd recently.

It is a rare sight in an area where hunters target the goats. Goats were apparently climbing down a mountain in the region as spring arrived in the otherwise freezing Tunceli when they were photographed by workers of the national parks authority. Authorities point out that the decline in illegal hunting has been ensured thanks to better enforcement of the bans. Officials say their population has also been increasing.

Last year alone, 115 people were subject to fines over illegal hunting with total fines issued reaching up to more than $52,540 (TL 777,000).

Goats in the past were subject to legal hunting, with the government occasionally selling licenses to local and foreign hunters. Activists had claimed that the hunting prevented wildlife preservation while authorities argued that hunting does not endanger the species in question, and on the contrary, helps cull overpopulated species thus preserving wildlife sustainability.

Tunceli is home to a sizeable Alevi population whose faith reveres mountain goats, viewing them as sacred creatures forbidden to hunt but the locals are wary of hunters arriving from elsewhere to shoot the goats. Wild goats are not exclusive to Tunceli as they are also sighted in other provinces in the region, including Van, though only those in Tunceli are under immediate threat of extinction.

Rocky areas in mountains, as well as forests, are habitats of the wild goats, which are placed on the Red List of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for endangered animals. Their exact population was counted years ago but authorities had not disclosed it over concerns about rising interest by illegal poachers in their habitat. An ancestor of the domestic goat, wild goats also face the danger of loss of habitat due to illegal logging elsewhere.