CHAPTER XIV 



THE SHEEP AND GOATS 



THE SHEEP 



THE sheep are represented at the present time by several wild species, one of which is 

 found in Northern India east of the Indus, in the Punjab, and in Sind ; one in 

 North America ; and another in North Africa. The rest inhabit the high ground of 

 Europe and Asia as far south as the Himalaya. These mountains, with the adjacent plateaux 

 of the Pamirs and the great ranges of Central Asia, form the main home, of the group. 

 Wild sheep are of various types, some so much like the goats that it is difficult to-draw a 

 hard-and-fast line between them; while others, especially the Curly-horned Argalis,' Bighorns, 

 Oorial, and Kamchatka Wild Sheep, are unmistakably ovine in type. The wild original of 

 the domesticated breeds of sheep is unknown; but the extreme differences between various 

 breeds of tame sheep as, for instance, between the smooth-coated, drooping-eared breed of 

 Nubia and the curly-horned, woolly sheep of Dorsetshire must not be allowed to divert the 

 attention, from the considerable likeness of habit which still remains between other breeds 

 and the wild species. Domesticated sheep which live on hills and mountains are still inclined 

 to seek the highest ground at night. The rams fight as the wild rams do, and many of them 

 display activity and powers of climbing and of finding a living on barren ground scarcely less 

 remarkable than in the wild races. 

 The apparent absence of wool in 

 the latter does not indicate so 

 great a difference as might be 

 thought. The domesticated sheep 

 have been bred by artificial selection 

 for unnumbered ages in order to 

 produce wool. It is said that in 

 some of the wild breeds there is 

 an under-fur which will " felt " like 

 wool. Most of the species are short- 

 tailed animals, but this is not the 

 case with the Barbary wild sheep. 

 Wild sheep are mainly 

 mountain-living animals or 

 frequenters of high ground. They 

 generally, although not always, 

 frequent less rugged country than 

 that affected by the wild goats, and 

 some are found at quite low levels. 

 The altitude at which other wild 

 sheep are found is, however, very 

 great; on the Pamirs it reaches 

 20,000 feet. Here the country is 

 quite open. 



, &> Co. 



Photo by (,'. W. li/il,! 



YOUNG BARBARY SHEEP 



Note the length of the tail as compared -with other ivild iheep 



221 



