Game Animals of India, etc. 



form a wide circle, with more or less markedly divergent 

 tips. Their front angles are rounded to a greater or 

 less degree, so that they do not ever appear to form 

 distinct beads or keels, and the transverse ridges on their 

 front edge are never very coarse. The general tone of 

 the summer coat tends rather to brown than to red ; 

 and the ruff on the throat seems to be always smaller 

 and mainly blackish brown. 



In the thirteen largest horns oi this race recorded 

 by Mr. Rowland Ward in his book on horn-measure- 

 ments the length along the front curve varies between 

 32^ and 39 inches, while the basal girth ranges between 



10 and 12^ inches, although three examples fall below 



1 1 inches. 



The head shown in plate iii, fig. 3 is taken from a 

 specimen in the British Museum shot in Ladak by 

 Major Powell -Cotton. Although the horns are not 

 large, the animal is fully adult, so that the characters of 

 the ruff may apparently be taken as distinctive of the 

 race. It will be seen that this ruff is restricted to the 

 upper part of the throat, and is mainly formed of black 

 or blackish brown hairs, although in front these are 

 partially over-lain by white hairs ; and it is these latter 

 which become more developed to form the long white 

 ruff distinctive of the Punjab and Kelat races. 



The geographical range of this race of wild sheep 

 extends from Astor, where it is known as urin, to 

 Zanskar, Ladak, and other districts in Tibet, where it 

 is known as sha. Eastwards the habitat extends 

 through Gilgit to the confines of Afghanistan. In 

 Ladak and Zanskar these sheep are found at high 

 elevations, in comparatively open country, where the 

 herbage is scanty and forests do not exist. In Astor 

 and Gilgit, on the other hand, they inhabit lower levels, 

 where there are extensive grassy tracts below the forest- 

 belt. Their habits, allowing tor the difference in the 

 nature of the country, are probably very similar to 

 those of the Punjab and Kelat urial. 



102 



