112 



THE TWO-TOED ARTIODACTYLA. 



fig. 1 88, inhabits the high plateaux of the 

 Pamir in the east of Bokhara, and probably 

 extends to Tibet. This splendid animal has 

 been figured as a representative of a pretty 

 considerable number of sheep inhabiting 

 Central Asia, among which the Argali [Ovis 

 Argali) is the best known, and the largest, 

 for it attains the size of a moderately large 



stag. The kashkar, which, according to 

 Wood, is of about the size of a two-year old 

 foal, and attains the weight of about five 

 hundred pounds, has had its Latin specific 

 name bestowed upon it in honour of the 

 celebrated traveller Poli, who was the first to 

 describe it. The horns of the male are very 

 large, bent round in a circle with the ends 



Fig. 188.— The Kashkar (Ovis Polii). 



turned outwards, and very broad in front; 

 the two side faces form at their junction a 

 sharp cutting edge. The ringed structure is 

 very marked, and the rings themselves lie 

 very close together. The female has horns 

 resembling those of a goat, and also closely 

 ringed. The profile of the head is slightly 

 curved, the body rather long, the legs long 

 and tolerably slim, and the tail quite short. 

 The back and sides are usually of a brown 

 colour with a shimmer of gray and red; the 

 front, the neck, breast, under surface, the 

 lower portion of the legs, the tail, and hind- 

 quarters are white; a dark stripe extends 

 along the back to the root of the tail. The 

 fleece is composed of a very delicate, but not 

 very dense wool, interspersed with strong 

 coarse hairs, which become rather longer 



on the neck and hind- quarters. Wood 

 designates the beard of the male expressly 

 " a reverend beard." The animal frequents 

 more particularly the elevated stony plateaux, 

 and is generally found in troops of about 

 thirty under the lead of an old male. At the 

 season of heat the males are very combative. 

 The chase is extremely difficult, especially on 

 account of the extraordinary tenacity of life 

 by which these animals are characterized. 

 The Kirghiz build pyramids with their 

 colossal horns in order to serve as land- 

 marks in their vast solitudes. 



The Musimon or European Mouflon [Ovis 

 musimon), fig. 189, is distinguished from the 

 giants of Central Asia even by its. size, being 

 little larger than the common sheep. This 

 native of the mountain chains in the countries 



