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The animal on the cover of Optimizing Java is a markhor goat (Capra falconeri). This species of wild goat is distinguished by its Merlin-esque beards and twisting, towering horns. Found in the mountainous regions of western and central Asia, these goats inhabit high-altitude monsoon forests and can be found between 600–3,600 meters in elevation.

The markhor are herbivores that primarily graze on a variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, herbs, fruits, and flowers. Like other wild goats, the markhor play a valuable role within their ecosystem as they munch the leaves from the low-lying trees and scrub, spreading the seeds in their dung.

The mating season takes place in winter, during which the males fight each other by lunging, locking horns, and attempting to push each other off balance. The subsequent births occur from late April to early June and result in one or two kids. Adult males are largely solitary and prefer the forest while the females and their young live in flocks on the rocky ridges high above.

Many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world. To learn more about how you can help, go to animals.oreilly.com.

The cover image is from Riverside Natural History. The cover fonts are URW Typewriter and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.