SHEEP. 217 



Kamschatka, and since it may also extend somewhat to the eastward, it is obvious 

 that its range is separated by little more than Behring Strait from its American 

 cousin in Alaska. Hence it is evident that such difference as there is between the 

 two is merely due to their isolation from one another since the period when there 

 was a free communication between North-Eastern Asia and Alaska. Dr. Guillemard 

 found these sheep abundant on the eastern coast of Kamschatka, about fifty miles 

 to the north-east of Petropaulovsky ; his party having shot fourteen adult rams in 

 two days. He describes them as standing about 3 feet 4 inches at the shoulder on 

 the average; and the largest horns he obtained measured 38 inches along the 

 curve, with a basal girth of 14 inches. " The general colour," writes Dr. Guille- 

 mard, " is a brown-grey, the head and neck rather greyer than the rest of the body. 

 Both tail and ears are remarkably short. The coat in those that we shot was very 

 long and thick, almost like that of a reindeer ; but autumn was well advanced, 

 and I have no doubt that in summer it is much thinner. It was curious that we 

 should not only never have shot, but never even have seen, the females. All those 

 that fell to our rifles were rams of (as far as we could judge) from three to six 

 years old. Whether the females always herd together or only at certain seasons it 

 is difficult to say, and we were unable to get any information from the natives 

 upon this point. The taste of the meat when quite fresh was slightly rank, but 

 upon the second day the unpleasant flavour had entirely disappeared." 



THE MONGOLIAN AND TIBETAN ARGALIS (Ovis ammon and 0. hodgsoni). 



The magnificent wild sheep of Mongolia known as the argali (0. ammori), and 

 a very closely-allied species (0. hodgsoni) found in Tibet, are readily distinguished 

 from the American and Kamschatkan members of the genus by the characters of 

 their skull and horns. The skull has a much deeper pit for the gland below the 

 eye; and the enormous horns have the wrinkles on the anterior surface very 

 strongly marked, and their outer anterior angle much less prominent, the inner 

 one being more distinct. 



The two species, or perhaps varieties, are so closely related that one description 

 will do for both ; but the true argali appears to be distinguished by the absence of 

 a ruff on the throat, while in one specimen in the British Museum there is no 

 distinct light-coloured patch on the rump. The argalis maybe compared in size 

 to a large donkey ; and have short, coarse, and close hair, small ears, and a very 

 short tail. In the males of the Tibetan species the hair on the sides and under-part 

 of the throat is lengthened so far as to form a white ruff, and there is also a shorter 

 crest of dark hair running along the back of the neck to the shoulders. The colour 

 is greyish brown above, but whitish beneath ; and in the males there is, as a rule, 

 a large white patch surrounding the tail and embracing a considerable portion of 

 the rump, while the throat, chest, and under-parts, as well as the inner sides of the 

 legs, are likewise white. The crest of hair on the neck and a stripe down the 

 outer side of the legs are dark, and there is also a dark mark above the tail. In 

 very old rams the fur of the back becomes greyish by the admixture of white 

 hairs ; and Mr. Blanford considers it probable that in winter the whole colour is 

 paler than in summer. In the ewes the long hair on the back and throat character- 



