THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 197 
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 maguza is practically impenetrable to hunters. When 
alarmed, the moufflon dash into it, and are safe. The maguza 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 taste of big-game shooting 
in the difficult 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- 
clopeedia 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 
a night and rest or sleep by day. 
Photo by We Be Dands There is a small herd of moufflon 
SIBERIAN ARGALI running wild in one of the English 
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. 
