812 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



of the frozen stream, passing through volcanic rocks to Turgat Bela, a little short of 

 which the country alters, and the precipitous hills are replaced by gently undulat- 

 ing grassy slopes, abounding with the O. poli. These extensive grassy slopes, 

 somewhat resembling the English downs, are a very curious feature of the country, 

 and not only attract the Kirghiz as grazing grounds for their cattle, but are equally 

 sought after by the large herds of gulja, in one of which Dr. Stoliczka counted no 

 less than eighty-five." 



In the Semiretchinsk Altai, according to Dr. Severtzow, these sheep are found 

 wherever there are good meadows and rocky places, at elevations of two thousand 

 or three thousand feet; and the same writer states that owing to the open nature of 

 the country, and the good grazing grounds which they frequent, they are more 

 easily driven from their haunts by the Kirghiz than are the ibex, which inhabit 

 rocky and less accessible regions. In other parts of the Thian-Shan, as the upper 

 Naria valley, these sheep are found in summer at elevations of ten thousand or even 

 twelve thousand feet above the sea. 



THE URIAI, OR SHA (Ovt's vignei) 



The Asiatic wild sheep known in the Punjab as the urial, but in Ladakh as the 

 sha, belongs to a group distinguished from all the preceding species by their smaller 

 size and less massive horns. It was long considered that the urial of the Punjab and 

 other districts of Northwestern India was specifically distinct from the sha of Ladakh, 

 but the investigations of Mr. Blanford have shown that the two forms pass into one 

 another, and must consequently be regarded merely as varieties of a single species. 



The typical urial of the Punjab stands about two feet eight inches in height at 

 the shoulder, but the Ladakh variety is rather taller, its height being as much as three 

 feet, or even, it is said, rather more. The horns are strongly wrinkled, and have 

 their lateral surfaces not much broader than the front one; while their outer front 

 angle is much more rounded off than in the argali. The two horns rise very close 

 together, and curve round in a regular circular sweep, sometimes keeping almost en- 

 tirely in the same plane, but at others forming a spiral; their curve very seldom ex- 

 ceeding one complete circle. In the ewes the horns are very short, and nearly 

 straight. The average length of the horns of the rams varies from twenty-four to 

 thirty inches along the curve, with a basal girth, of about ten inches; but Mr. Blan- 

 ford states that a specimen has been obtained in which the length of the horns was 

 upward of thirty-seven and three-fourths inches, and their basal girth eleven and 

 one-fifth inches. In the sha or Ladakh variety the horns are generally thicker at the 

 base than in the true urial, their basal girth in some instances varying between 

 eleven and twelve inches, whereas in the latter it does not exceed ten inches; the 

 horns frequently, moreover, form a wider circle, and their outer front edge is still 

 more rounded off. 



The adult ram of the urial is characterized by having a large ruff of long hair 

 on the throat, commencing on either side of the chin in two distinct moieties, which 

 soon unite and extend down the throat to the chest. In the Ladakh variety the ruff 

 is generally much less developed. In color the fur of the urial is rufous gray or 



