222 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



THE EUROPEAN MOUFFLON 



The only wild sheep of Europe is the MOUFFLON, found in the mountains of Corsica and 

 Sardinia. Its height at the shoulder is about 27 inches. In the rams the horns are strong, 

 and curved into a spiral, forming almost a complete circle. The hair is close, and in winter 

 has a woolly under-fur. In summer and autumn the coat is a bright red-brown on the neck, 

 shoulders, and legs'; the rump and under-parts are whitish, and the back and flanks marked with 

 a white saddle. In winter the brown becomes darker and the white saddle broader. A rather 

 larger moufflon is found on Mount Elburz in Persia, in Armenia, and in the Taurus Mountains. 

 A smaller variety exists in Cyprus, where it has been preserved since the British occupation. 

 The moufflon is a typical wild sheep. In Sardinia and Corsica are dense scrubby forests of 

 tall heather, some 5 feet high. This maquia is practically impenetrable to hunters. When 

 alarmed, the moufflon dash into it, and are safe. The maquia has preserved two very interesting 

 survivals of antiquity the moufflon, and the Corsican or Sardinian bandit. The Corsican bandit, 



like the moufflon of the same island, 

 is nearly extinct. In Sardinia both 

 flourish. Many sportsmen have had 

 their first taje of big-game shooting 

 in the diffic^m pursuit of the moufflon 

 on the Sardinian mountains. Some 

 declare that the sport is so fascinating 

 that they have seldom found much 

 to equal it since. Mr. S. H. Whit- 

 bread, whose notes in "The Ency- 

 clopaedia of Sport " are very full on 

 this subject, deems that the best 

 season to stalk moufflon is in October 

 or November. The animals are then 

 less disturbed by shepherds and dogs, 

 and the moufflon are on the move 

 and more easily seen during the day 

 than in summer, when they feed at 

 night and rest or sleep by day. 



There is a small herd of moufflon 

 running wild in one of the English 



f *o/o by W. P. Dando 



SIBERIAN ARGALI 



One of the large -wild sheep of Central Asia 



parks. They have a specially built 

 " mountain-top " of stone to make a 



home of, but are free to feed where they like in the park. They produce lambs yearly. It is 

 an interesting sight to see the quick rush of the little flock, when frightened, to their sheltering- 

 place, led by an old white saddled ram. 



THE ARGALIS 



The ARGALIS are the largest of all living wild sheep. Some measure from 3 feet 9 inches 

 to 4 feet at the shoulder. The horns are broad, corrugated, and curling in the male, and 

 in the female short, erect, and curving backwards. The male TIBETAN ARGALI has a ruff on 

 the throat. The usual colour is a stony grey, mingled with white in the summer in the case 

 of the old males. The name is applied collectively to several wild sheep found in Northern 

 and Central Asia. Whether these are only varieties or separate species it is difficult to say; 

 but the following are some of the most marked forms. 



The SIBERAIN ARGALI is the characteristic wild sheep of the rocky hills and mountains of 

 Southern Siberia, the Altai Mountains, and Northern Mongolia. The horns curve so as to form 

 more than a complete circle; the upper parts are tinged with grey, and the lower are white.. 



