The Altai mountain sheep belongs to rare species of artiodactyl animals. It differs in especially large dimensions and is the owner of the most massive horns. A detailed description and existing subspecies of these animals will be considered below.
What is the name of the mountain sheep, description
The animal species in question is called argali, or argali. It includes several different subspecies that differ in appearance.
Did you know? The Altai mountain range occupies the territory of 4 countries at once โ Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan and Russia.
This is the largest representative of the genus of sheep. In addition to the massive body, it is distinguished by heavy horns. In a mature male, the weight of the horns can vary by up to 35 kg.
External characteristics of argali:
- at the withers, mammals of this species reach 70-125 cm, depending on gender and age, the length of the body varies between 120-200 cm, tail โ 14 cm;
- body weight of an individual is 70โ180 kg;
- the skull is large, massive, the profile is hook-nosed, in females it is more aligned;
- auricles are movable, framed with tassels at the tips;
- the tip of the muzzle is much lighter in color than the head and withers;
- the neck is short, powerful, well muscled;
- the chest is wide, in girth about 120-135 cm;
- the body of rams of all subspecies of argali is squat, powerful;
- the limbs are thin, but very hardy;
- all species are characterized by twisting of the horns with pronounced striation and sharp ends in a spiral;
- due to the rather large weight of the horns, the head of these rams is thrown back, which gives them a proud look;
- the metacarpal and metatarsal bones of the limbs are elongated โ such a structure is typical only for representatives of this species of sheep and allows them to move freely along the rocks;
- in front of the hooves are 4,5 cm long, in the back they are shorter by 2โ4 mm;
- on the back surface of the limbs there are 2 additional hooves;
- coloring differs in a fairly wide range depending on the species, gender, age characteristics.
Habitat, number of individuals
There are very few animals left. They are found only in mountainous areas:
- border between China and Mongolia;
- the Saylyugem Ridge, located in the Altai Mountains on the border with Mongolia;
- mountains Chulyshman;
- Tibetan Plateau, Himalayas, India;
- west of the mountain ranges of Kazakhstan, some mountainous areas of Uzbekistan;
- mountainous territories of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan.
Important! The habitat of mountain sheep is directly dependent on the subspecies to which they belong. In addition, all varieties of these animals are characterized by seasonal vertical movement: sheep climb higher on the slopes, changing their location in the warm season, and descend into gorges and plains in the cold season.
The natural habitat for these animals is mountainous terrain and rocks located at an altitude of several thousand kilometers. Mammals avoid areas with dense woody vegetation. All territories where these artiodactyls are found are under strict supervision, since the number of these animals is small. The average indicator of their number on the Russian-Mongolian border for 2016 is about 3899 individuals.
At the moment, the main population of argali is concentrated on the Sailyugem Ridge.
Subspecies, differences in external characteristics
The modern classification distinguishes several varieties of the animals in question, which have been studied quite well. Among themselves, they mainly differ in coat color, horn structure and dimensions. The main subspecies of the Altai mountain sheep:
- Altai ram, or Ovis ammon ammon โ Differs in the largest dimensions. The color of the coat is gray-brown, changing to a lighter shade in winter.
- Anatolian mouflon, or Ovis ammon anatolica โ individuals of medium size: their height at the withers does not exceed 70โ95 cm. The horns are relatively oversized, up to 70 cm long, curved in a ring. The color of the coat is reddish-buff, with narrow, dirty-white saddle-shaped spots.
- Bukhara sheep, or Ovis ammon bocharensis โ according to external characteristics, it is similar to Ovis ammon ammon. Included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
- Kazakh argali, or Ovis ammon collium โ the color of the coat of animals is sandy with a gray tint. Horns 120 cm long, twisted in a ring.
- Gansu argali, or Ovis ammon dalailame โ quite large, weight about 90-100 kg. The height at the withers is approximately 115 cm, the color is chestnut brown on the back, grayish brown on the sides and white on the lower body, inside of the legs, muzzle, neck. Distributed in China.
- Tibetan mountain sheep, or Ovis ammon hodgsonii โ the coat of these representatives is gray-brown. The horns are localized almost parallel to the skull, twisted spirally.
- Northern Chinese mountain sheep, or Ovis ammon jubata โ the coat color is gray, with small patches of a brownish tint. The horns are twisted in a ring, not very long.
- Tianshan mountain mountain, or Ovis ammon karelini โ coat color is dark brown, gray-black on the chest, with saddle-shaped white spots on the sides. The horns are massive, thickened at the beginning, tapering towards the end.
- Karatau mountain mountain, or Ovis ammon nigrimontana โ coat color is ocher-red. Spiral horns, about 100 cm long.
- Cypriot ram, or Ovis ammon ophion โ the coat is thick, dull brown in color, with a bright light gray spot at the withers. One of the small-sized representatives: its height at the withers reaches 65โ70 cm.
- Sheep mountain Marco Polo, or Ovis ammon polii โ a massive animal, reaching 120 cm at the withers. The color can be dark gray or red-buff. The horns are powerful, twisted into a spiral.
- Kyzylkum sheep mountain, or Ovis ammon severtzovi โ today the number of subspecies is approximately 100 animals, so it is considered almost extinct. Differs in less massive horns, in comparison with other representatives of argali. They have a homonymous shape, with sharp anterior-occipital and orbital edges. The coat color is brownish grey.
- Urmian mouflon, or Ovis ammon urmiana โ coat color is reddish-yellow or brownish-brown. The animals themselves are medium in size, up to 95 cm at the withers.
Lifestyle, duration
Argali are herd animals. Herds are divided by sex and age into 2 types:
- females with young;
- males.
Such groups usually keep apart and join only during the mating season. Relationships between males and females are characterized by polygamy.
Did you know? The International Red Book was published in 1963. To print it, scientists spent 15 years studying flora and fauna.
Usually argali choose one place of residence for themselves. However, in search of more fertile pastures during the warm season, they regularly migrate. During this period, they stray in herds of 10 goals. Closer to winter, artiodactyls begin to descend to the foothills of mountain ranges, where they can form herds of up to 1000 animals. The largest, massive males can keep apart.
The life expectancy of the Altai ram is 12โ18 years. This indicator is directly influenced by the diet, place of residence and natural selection, since animals can be attacked by predators, and a large number of males die during the mating season during fights.
Features of behavior
Excluding the mating period, animals do not show aggression towards each other. Herds of females with young and male sexually mature individuals keep at a distance from each other, however, when danger arises, animals warn each other about this by means of sound signals.
Argali are distinguished by a high level of ingenuity, which allows them to quickly find a way out of a dangerous situation that arises.
Natural enemies
For argali, the main danger is:
- berkuty;
- seed;
- cougars;
- Snow leopards;
- wolves;
- coyotes;
- hepardi;
- leopards;
- human.
Birds of prey pose a danger mainly to newborn cubs. Large animals attack both young and mature individuals. Coping with adult argali is quite difficult, so most predators tend to knock them down in order to throw them into the abyss, and only then eat a wounded or already dead animal.
Diet
The considered species of representatives of the fauna belongs to herbivorous mammals. The basis of their diet is various herbaceous vegetation. Animals have a special love for cereals, but if they are not there, they can be content with sedge, saltwort and other herbs that grow in mountainous areas.
One of the features of these animals is their ability to do without water for a long time. They have enough moisture that comes with pasture.
Did you know? In case of urgent need, argali can even drink salt water.
Reproduction and offspring
The mating season begins in the first decade of November and continues in winter.
At this time, males compete for females, conducting fierce battles, which often lead to the death of one of the participants. The winning male mates with the female he likes.
The duration of pregnancy in female argali is 5 months. The main percentage of young animals is born in May: during this period, there is already enough juicy greenery for feeding and rapid growth of animals. Just before giving birth, females are separated from the herd and kept apart. Cubs immediately after birth get up on their legs and are able to follow their mothers.
Compared to other species of artiodactyls, female argali feed their offspring more intensively. By autumn, young lambs reach 2/3 of the size of an adult in size, which allows babies to endure harsh winters normally.
Puberty in females begins at the age of 2 years, in males โ on average at 5 years.
Population status and species protection
It is very difficult to control the numbers of animals, because their natural habitat is hard-to-reach terrain. The decline in the population is due not only to human activities and predators, but also to climate change. Due to the extremely meager number of these animals, they were included in the Red Book back in Soviet times, where they are to this day.
Important! Argali do not breed well in captivity โ most attempts to breed them end in failure. To maintain their population, it is necessary maximally bring closer environmental conditions to natural.
Attempts are being made to breed in captivity to preserve the species. In addition, a number of legislative acts have been adopted prohibiting the hunting of argali. The territories where the appearance of these animals is noted are immediately included in the number of protected ones.
But these attempts have not yet yielded results, because illegal hunting for argali still continues โ at least 2-3 cases of poaching are recorded per year.
Interesting Facts
Some interesting information about Altai sheep:
- The Latin name of the species of the considered population of rams โammonโ is given to animals in honor of the deity Amon. According to legend, in fear of Typhon, all the deities turned into different animals so that he would not recognize them. Amon chose the ram. In antiquity, he was even painted as a man with horns.
- The horns of argali have been hunted since ancient times. Since antiquity, they have been used by people working in esoteric directions, as well as traditional healers โ as raw materials for the preparation of various potions and medicines.
- On steep surfaces, Altai sheep move rather poorly, but they can jump from hill to hill or jump 3โ5 m in height with a sufficiently large weight.
To date, the situation with the population size of the considered animal species has not actually changed due to a number of factors. At this stage, work is actively underway to tame and preserve the species, which gives great hopes for the future.
