Self-esteem and self-love 

Description of the mouflon mountain sheep. Mountain sheep Caucasian mouflon in japan

Ovis Musimon or Ovis ammon musimo

European Mouflon (English), Mufflon (German), Mouflon (French), Muflon, Musmon (Spanish)

One of the six currently recognized species of wild sheep. The only wild sheep in Europe, where it appeared, according to zoologists, about 8 thousand years ago. At present, scientists have proven the origin of all breeds of domestic sheep from wild sheep belonging to the group of mouflons. Used to improve the quality of sheep breeds.

DESCRIPTION. This is one of the smallest wild sheep in the world - height at the withers 65-75 cm, weight 30-45 kg, resembling a slender domestic sheep, except that it has a normal hairline, and the undercoat is hidden under it. Females are slightly smaller than males.

The general coloration of the European mouflon is very different from other rams. It is characterized by the predominance of rich blackish, brown and rusty-red tones. It has a very characteristic pale (almost white) saddle spot in the winter coat. The belly and the inner side of the legs are lighter, have a yellowish or white color. A dark stripe stretches along the ridge, more pronounced in adult animals. Along the underside of the neck they usually have a mane of black-brown and white hair. Young lambs are covered with soft brown-gray fur.

The horns usually grow in a tight ring and point back about three-quarters of the way. The length of the horns of an adult mouflon along the curve of the front surface is about 75-80 cm, rarely more. The horns have a varied curvature, most often with ends pointing straight forward on the sides of the head or slightly inward. The ends of the horns are strongly compressed from the sides, they have only anterior and posterior ribs. Females sometimes grow small horns, but usually they don't.

BEHAVIOR. Herd animal. Females with young form quite large groups throughout the year. Adult males are solitary, but sometimes unite in small groups of three or four individuals. Active mainly in the morning and evening dawn. During the day, it hides in dense vegetation. Food in the summer is a variety of herbs, primarily cereals and herbs, but can eat leaves and branches. In winter, in places with little snow, they feed on grassy rags and leaves of evergreens, and in deep snow - thin branches, juniper and pine needles, tree lichens and even mosses. Willingly, especially in summer, they visit artificial salt licks.

During the rut in October-November, adult males join the females. At this time, duels for superiority are not rare between them. Lambs (usually one, rarely two) are born 5 months later. Females become sexually mature before reaching one year. Vision and hearing are excellent, the sense of smell is weaker. Good runner. It is shy and cautious where it is hunted. Well trained. The European mouflon is a mountain-forest animal. It does not rise to the mountains above 1500-2000 m above sea level. Mouflons spend summer in the upper forest zone, hide in the forest during the day, and in the evening and at night go out to graze on the adjacent yayla (treeless slopes and mountain tops). In winter they keep in groups of 12-18 individuals, in summer it is rare to find groups of more than 3-5 mouflons together. They feed in the mornings, evenings and on bright nights. During the day they rest in the depths of the forest or under the canopies of rocks. In winter, they also graze during the daytime, and in bad weather they save themselves in beams protected from the wind or in caves.

Sexual maturity is reached in the third, and sometimes in the second year of life. The mating period in the Crimea is from late October to late November. Females bring 1-2 lambs, which are born mostly in April.

LOCATION. In the process of developing new places, some transformations took place with the European mouflon. He has adapted to life not only in mountainous conditions (although the mouflon avoids rocks and gorges), but also on a plain with mosaic forests.

SPREAD. Previously widespread in almost all the mountainous regions of Europe, this ram at one time survived only in Corsica and Sardinia. Work on its acclimatization and re-acclimatization began a long time ago. In 1730, several dozen mouflons were brought to the parks of Austria. These rams were most successfully acclimatized in the Nitra region in Slovakia. The herd formed there in purity was then used for the importation of animals to Germany. At the end of the last century, the mouflon was brought for breeding in the Askania-Nova reserve, and in 1913-1914. released in the Crimea. Widely distributed throughout Central and Southern Europe.

Kira Stoletova

Mouflon is one of the oldest representatives of the animal world. These artiodactyls are considered the ancestors of the domestic sheep. Even those who have never seen a wild ram can recognize it by its characteristic rounded horns.

Wild mouflons are distributed throughout Eurasia, but due to the unusual structure of the horns and the valuable fur coat, they are hunted in many countries. The extermination of the animal population by man has led to the fact that some breeds of Mouflons are placed in the Red Book. To date, such animals are kept in nature reserves and zoos, and in some countries they are bred at home.

Range and species of animals

Mouflon is a herbivorous artiodactyl animal, whose habitat is predominantly mountainous. These rams are considered the ancestors of domestic sheep and are one of the most ancient representatives of the animal world.

There are two main varieties of this breed, which differ in exterior and habitat:

  • European mouflon;
  • Asian wild mouflon, or Arkal.

The European breed of artiodactyls inhabits the mountainous coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, in particular, its representatives inhabit:

  • Cyprus;
  • Sardinia;
  • Corsica.

The European Mouflon lives in Armenia and Iraq. This breed can also be found in the Crimea, where it was brought from the southern countries. Mouflon has adapted to the Crimean climate, and leads a semi-free existence in the reserves. In European countries, it is considered the last mountain sheep living in its natural habitat.

The Asian wild sheep differs from the European species in a more massive body structure, in addition, the horns of the representatives of the eastern wild sheep twist back, and not on the sides. You can distinguish between European and Asian mouflon by photo.

The range of the eastern artiodactyl is southern Asia. Mouflon is found in countries such as:

  • Tajikistan;
  • Uzbekistan;
  • Turkey;
  • Turkmenistan.

Arkal is also found on the territory of Kazakhstan, the locals of which revere this artiodactyl. The Ustyurt ram is found in the steppes of Mangyshlak and Ustyurt.

The nature and lifestyle of wild sheep

Artiodactyls prefer a migratory way of life. The route of their movement is usually laid between watering places and pastures. Animals live in gently sloping mountainous areas. Unlike wild goats, Arkaly feel insecure in rocky regions.

Wild sheep are nocturnal, sleeping during the day in mountain gorges or forest plantations. Females with lambs form a herd of up to 100 heads.

Males prefer a solitary lifestyle, joining the herd during the mating season. For artiodactyls, a strict hierarchical system is characteristic: males under 3 years old are not allowed to mate and larger individuals are driven away.

In the wild, an animal's natural enemies are such predators as:

  • Steppenwolf;
  • Wolverine;
  • Lynx.

For young animals, a fox or a wild dog can be dangerous.

Artiodactyl exterior

Representatives of the European breed are smaller in size than domestic sheep. Artiodactyls of this species have the following characteristics:

  1. The height of an adult ram is 90 cm, the body length is approximately 131 cm.
  2. The weight of the female reaches 30 kg, the male usually weighs about 50 kg due to heavy horns.
  3. The age of the animal is determined by ring-shaped growths on the horns.
  4. The female is usually polled or has small horns.
  5. The coat of an artiodactyl changes color, depending on the time of year: in summer the hairline has a red color, in winter the shade becomes darker.

Mouflons are characterized by a black stripe on the back. The belly, nose and hooves are usually light in color.

Representatives of the Asian breed have a more massive body structure, and the Armenian mouflon is also characterized by a beard on the muzzle. The exterior of the Eastern wild sheep includes the following features:

  1. The height of an adult animal reaches 95 cm, and the body length is 150 cm.
  2. The mass of the male varies from 53 to 80 kg, depending on the weight of the horns. Females reach a weight of 45 kg.
  3. The horns of males twist back, have a diameter of up to 30 cm at the base.
  4. Females are most often polled.

The coat color of Arkalov is similar to European relatives, however, the eastern breed is characterized by a white color of the sternum.

Wild sheep diet

Mouflons are herbivores, so the main part of their diet is cereals and forbs. The animal is often found on crops, thereby damaging the crop.

The usual diet of an artiodactyl consists of the following components:

  • green fodder: feather grass, couch grass, sedge;
  • shrubs and young trees;
  • mushrooms and berries;
  • moss, lichen.

In winter, artiodactyls extract plant roots from under the snow. Worm berries and carrion are prized by herbivores as they supply the body of the Mouflon with essential proteins.

Reproduction of artiodactyls

Mouflon females reach sexual maturity at 2 years, which is considered the fastest maturation among other representatives of artiodactyls. Pregnancy lasts 5 months, after which one or two lambs are born.

The cubs are up on their feet on the first day and are able to follow the herd. Most often, the birth of offspring falls on March and April, since it is easier to raise lambs in the warm season.

The average life expectancy of a wild sheep is 15 years. European mouflons breed better in captivity. Unlike the European one, the Asian wild mouflon does not breed well in zoos.

mouflon and man

The European breed of wild sheep is actively used in breeding. Based on this species, new breeds of domestic sheep have been bred, which are capable of year-round grazing on mountain pastures. The meat of the European artiodactyl has good palatability, and the skin is used in light industry.

In winter, the hairline of the animal becomes thick and dense, therefore fur coats are made from Mouflons in northern countries. Due to the large number of positive qualities in some countries, not only the hunting of wild mouflons is carried out, but also the breeding of animals on farms.

The Armenian wild or Transcaucasian mountain sheep is in the Red Book, since hunting for Mouflon and environmental pollution have reduced the population of the animal.

The mountain sheep has a powerful slender body, it is not at all like fattened and spoiled domestic sheep. This is a proud and willful animal. Majestic images of rams with twisted horns have been found on ancient Asian frescoes and engravings. The wild mountain sheep lives mainly in the highlands of Iraq, Iran and the mountains of the Caucasus. At the end of the last century, the Asian mouflon lived on the territory of Armenia, in the Crimea and in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula.

The Latin name for this animal is Ovis orientalis. Males by nature are strong-willed animals, therefore, in one group of wild sheep there is a total hierarchical order. The weaker unconditionally obey the strongest. A flock can consist of almost a hundred individuals, moreover, the male adjoins it only at the beginning of the mating season, and then leaves the relatives. A well-known feature of the mating season: fighting males or pushing with horns.

Origin

Scientists still doubt whether the modern wild mountain sheep is a descendant of the ancient Asian mouflon. Some have suggested that the mouflons now living on earth are just descendants of ancient domestic sheep. For the first time, wild mouflons appeared in households at the beginning of our era, about 8 thousand years ago. Archaeological finds confirm the Asian origin of the wild sheep.

Appearance

The Asiatic ram has large twisted hollow horns and long strong legs that help it to climb mountain stones. The head of the animal is elongated, small, the ears are small, the eyes are yellow with black transverse pupils. The main features of the mountain sheep are a neat small body and an average weight (about 50-70 kg in males). Females are smaller and slightly lower at the withers, and they also have a thinner neck. The body of the mouflon is strong and short, the tail is small, up to about 15 cm long.

The color of mouflons can be very different, including brown with black tan, brown, light gray or dark gray. The horns have horizontal "notches", are often very large in size and beautiful. Leader males are usually one and a half to two times larger than females, have a wider and more powerful neck.

Nutrition

The Asian wild sheep in nature feeds mainly on grass of all kinds. Like domestic sheep, wild sheep love all kinds of cereals, especially wheatgrass, which grows in any mountainous area. Mouflons are happy to chew St. John's wort, fescue, astragalus, as well as sainfoin and godson. Zoologists count about 17 species of wild herbs in the diet of Asian mouflons.

reproduction

In the third year of life, females and males of wild sheep begin to breed. In some females, the estrus period occurs at the end of October, but in general, most wild sheep in the herd enter the rut en masse at the end of November. The hunting season lasts until mid-December. Males behave very tactfully towards females: they bleat, rub against the sides of their partners and cover. The male remains near his lady of the heart until lambing, that is, until spring.

The duration of pregnancy in females is five months. In April-May, young growth appears, rapidly growing and gaining weight. A young wild ram finally grows and grows stronger by the age of 4. The older the mouflon, the larger and more powerful it is. On average, males live about 12 years, females a little less.

Video "Hunting for a mountain sheep in Kyrgyzstan"

An interesting video about the method of hunting sheep in the mountains.

Mouflon is a type of wild sheep. There are 5 subspecies of mouflon that can be found in Asia (Caucasus, Iraq and Iran) and Europe (mainly Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus). The mouflon lives in partially open forested areas on steep mountain slopes. It can also be found in mountain meadows. The main threat to the mouflon's survival is habitat loss as a result of the growth of agriculture. These animals are often targeted by hunters for their highly valued horns. Crossbreeding with domestic sheep creates hybrids and reduces the number of genetically pure mouflons in the wild. Due to these factors, some mouflon populations are listed as vulnerable.

Interesting Mouflon Facts:

Mouflons can reach 4 to 5 feet in length and 55 to 220 pounds in weight. The males are much larger than the females.

Mouflons are covered with woolly fur, reddish-brown on the back of the body and whitish on the belly and lower legs. The coat becomes thicker during the winter.

Mouflons have a stocky body and muscular legs that make it easy to move up steep areas.

Mouflons have large spiral horns that can be up to 25 inches long. The males of some subspecies also have horns, but they are much smaller compared to the size of the horns of the males.

The mouflon's horns grow throughout its life. The size of the horns determines the status in the group: larger horns provide higher position and more dominance.

Mouflons are herbivores (eat plants). Their diet consists of various types of grasses, shrubs and tree bark. Mouflons regurgitate food and chew it several times before it is ready for digestion in the intestines.

Mouflons are nomadic animals. They make frequent crossings to find new areas that provide sufficient food. In winter, mouflons migrate to lower altitudes to avoid extremely cold temperatures and food shortages.

Mouflons are nocturnal animals (active at night). They spend most of the daytime hidden in dense vegetation.

The main predators of mouflons are wolves, bears and jackals. Eagles often attack young mouflons.

Males and females live in separate groups. They only mingle during the mating season.

The mating season of mouflons occurs from late autumn to early winter.
Males fight each other to prove their dominance and get the opportunity to mate.

Pregnancy in females lasts 5 months and ends with the appearance of one or two cubs. The female moves away from the herd to give birth in a well-hidden place. The baby can stand up and walk within minutes of birth.

Asian mouflon - Ovis orientalis - a species that is extremely variable in a number of systematic characters (for example, size, horn structure). Forms about 25 subspecies.

This is a medium sized ram or slightly smaller. Height at the shoulders is 84-92 cm, body length is up to 150 cm. This is a slender, graceful animal, on high and thin legs, a thin neck, with a high head set. The horns are large, spirally twisted, trihedral, forming no more than one whorl. They curve first outwards and upwards, then backwards and finally downwards; the ends are slightly turned inward. The horns of females are small, flattened, slightly crescent-shaped, often completely absent. The surface of the horns has numerous transverse wrinkles.

The general tone of the color in summer is reddish-brown or yellowish-red. Summer fur is short. Winter coloration is brownish, red and red tones are less developed. The belly and the inner side of the legs are lighter, have a yellowish or white color. A dark stripe stretches along the ridge, more pronounced in adult animals. They usually have a mane of black-brown and white hair along the underside of the neck. Young lambs are covered with soft brownish-gray fur.

The molt starts from the end of February and ends by May; from May to August, the mouflon wears a summer hairline. Winter fur begins to grow from September, reaching full development in December.

Adult mouflons are somewhat larger than domestic sheep, and therefore their tracks are slightly larger. Kal - small nuts, like domestic sheep.

On the territory of the former USSR, the mouflon is found in the Transcaucasus and in the southern parts of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. The area of ​​distribution of mouflons outside the USSR extends from the islands in the Mediterranean Sea to northwestern India, covering Asia Minor Iran, Afghanistan and Balochistan. We know the following four subspecies.

Keeps on mountains and hilly heights with steppe pastures on tops. Grazes on open slopes; avoids rocky steeps and steep gorges. It climbs mountains high, up to 4000 m, but often descends quite low, into the zone of hilly foothills.

Mouflon movements during the year are quite significant and depend on the state of pastures and watering places. All summer they spend high in the mountains, but closer to the sources. By the end of autumn, they begin to descend to lower areas. In winter, they keep much larger herds than in summer, often over 100 heads, and sometimes up to 200. Summer migrations are caused by the burning of vegetation. In such cases, mouflons gather near perennial springs.

Estrus occurs at the end of autumn and at the beginning of winter: in Transcaucasia it begins in December, in Turkmenistan - from the middle of November. During estrus, adult males join females, forming small herds, up to 15 heads. In this case, the number of males is usually much less than the number of females. Estrus, accompanied by fights between males, lasts a little less than a month. After estrus, the males again separate from the females. Lambs are born at the end of April - the first half of May. The number of young is normally one or two, sometimes three or even four. Females with young usually roam in small groups, but sometimes join in quite large herds.

Together with them, young in the second year are often kept, and sometimes older, but not yet quite adult males. The fatness of mouflons changes dramatically during the year. During the rut, they lose a lot of weight, especially males. Feeding begins in spring, and the highest fatness is achieved by the period preceding estrus, by October - November.

The main food is grasses of mountain meadows, couch grass, etc. Shoots and leaves of shrubs are readily eaten. The bulbs of some plants, such as wild onions, are dug up. The need for water in mouflons is quite large; they regularly visit watering places, drink very salty water.

During the hot part of the day, mouflons rest in the shade of slopes and trees; as the shadows move, they move on their own. Sometimes they stay in the shade of the same tree for several days.

They leave for grazing after 5 o'clock in the afternoon, gradually moving to watering places. The time at which they reach watering places depends on the remoteness of the latter from places of daytime rest. Watering places are always strictly defined and visited daily. The mouflons go to the springs along beaten paths. During the night, apparently, they graze near the watering hole. By sunrise, as a rule, they return to daytime shelters. In places where mouflons are not disturbed, they can stay at the watering place much longer, up to 9-10 hours in the morning.

The external senses of the mouflon are excellently developed. In case of alarm, mouflons make a sharp whistling sound. The voice of the young is similar to the voice of domestic sheep - the usual thin bleating. When fleeing from danger, mouflons prefer to stay in open places where they can move with great speed. They walk along rocky steeps much more slowly and not as dexterously as goats. Rocky areas are generally avoided. At a distance, they are hardly distinguishable due to the coloration, similar to the surrounding background, and the slow movement of animals.

The main enemies of mouflons are wolves and partly leopards. The cubs are attacked by small predators, such as foxes.

The mouflon is not of great commercial importance and is mined mainly for meat, which is consumed by the hunters themselves.

In 1913, 16 European mouflons were brought to the Crimea, where they acclimatized and multiplied significantly on the territory of the Crimean Reserve.