122 Game of Europe, W. Sc N. Asia Sc America 



THE YAK 



(Bos [Biso//] griinnh'ns) 



Although this animal inhabits portions of Central Asia coming within 

 the area treated of in the present work, it has been so tully described in 

 the companion volume, G/raf and Siiid// Giiiih' of India^ 'Hhcf, aiiii BuDua^ 

 that it requires no further notice here. We accordingly pass on to the 

 wild sheep, the first of which to be mentioned is 



THE SIBERIAN ARGALI 



(Ovis amnrjii) 



(Plate III. Fig. 2) 



According to the view adopted in Wild Oxen, S/nrp, and Goats of All 

 Lands, the great wild sheep of Siberia and the Altai is the typical repre- 

 sentative of a species divisible into at least three local races, and as one ot 

 these, the Tibetan argali (O. aumrjn liodgsoni), is described in Great and 

 Small Game of India, etc., where the characters of the species itself are also 

 given, the notice in this volume need only be very short indeed. A good 

 portrait of the ram in the summer dress forms the frontispiece to Prince 

 Demidoff's After Wild Slieep in the Altai and Mongolia, but the colour is 

 made decidedly darker than in the mounted specimen presented to the 

 British Museum by Mr. St. George Littledale. 



The distinctive characteristics of the typical Siberian, or Altai, race of 

 the argali appear to be the following : — The horns of the old rams are 

 very long and massive and much inclined outwards at the tips, which are 

 generally but little broken, so that their spiral forms more than one 

 complete circle. There is no long white ruff on the thrt)at ot tlie rams 

 in the summer coat, and little or no trace of the same in an old male trom 



