Game Animals of India, etc. 



than is the pursuit of markhor and ibex in the middle 

 Himalaya ; the reason being that the great sheep 

 dwells on the top of the Central Asian plateau, where 

 the country has not been cut up by the action of rivers 

 and glaciers into the deep gorges and precipitous cliffs 

 characteristic of the middle ranges of the Himalaya. 

 The ground may, in fact, be described as partaking 

 more of the nature of a rolling plain than of pre- 

 cipitous mountains, and difficult places are seldom 

 encountered. Nevertheless, although the sheep them- 

 selves are not excessively wary, stalking is by no means 

 easy, owing to the open nature of the country, so that 

 it is seldom that the sportsman can get to closer 

 quarters with his quarry than a distance of between 

 two and three hundred yards. Moreover, it must not 

 be supposed that Ovis poli invariably restricts itself to 

 open country, any more than does the argali, both 

 species crossing rugged hills in wandering from one 

 feeding-ground to another, or in retiring to places of 

 safety. An example of the precipitous country to 

 which O. foil will sometimes betake itself is afforded 

 by the photograph of a living specimen in Mr. R. P. 

 Cobbold's Innermost Asia, where the animal is shown 

 standing on the face of a cliff which would try the 

 powers of an ibex. 



The general habits of this species appear similar to 

 those of other wild sheep ; the large flocks being 

 composed of ewes of all ages and young males, while 

 the old rams go by themselves in small parties of from 

 two or three to eight or ten, and occasionally more. In 

 summer the parties of old males keep to the highest 

 accessible ground ; but in winter, when many perish 

 from starvation, they seek lower levels. It is not, 

 however, from shortness of food alone that their 

 numbers are diminished, for in the winter of 1897-98 

 rinderpest raged among the flocks on the Pamirs to 

 such an extent that in certain districts an almost clean 

 sweep was made of them. 



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