DISTRIBUTION AND HABITS OF ARGALI SHEEP 135 



1870, was the first to- give information of their present 

 existence in Ta Tsing Shan. How far their distribution 

 extends in these ranges is somewhat doubtful, yet it seems 

 that they are most frequent in a comparatively small district 

 in this range, just north of Kuei-Hua-Ch'eng. 



Ovis ammon hodgsoni. 



The distribution of this species extends along the parallel 

 ranges of Kuen Lun in the southern border of Gobi and 

 the Tarim basin. Accurate information is lacking regarding 

 the eastern limit of their distribution and whether they 

 roam as far as the Nanshan mountains. Przhevalsky who 

 travelled through this latter range does not mention Argali 

 sheep here and besides he foamd these mountains extremely 

 poor in game. 



In Anambairin-Ola and several localities in Altyn-Tagh 

 Argali sheep were found by Sven Hedin. 31 



Prezhevalsky found Ovis hodgsoni in the neighbourhood 

 of the Dumbure mountains which belong to Kuen Lun. 

 Thus Anambairin-Ola, which, situated between Nan Shan and 

 Altyn Tagh proper, is the easternmost point in Gobi's 

 southern border zone, where these sheep are reported to 

 exist. 



In the interior of Tibet they occur over the entire 

 Tibetan plateau, from N. Ladak to the district north of 

 Sikkim and probably farther east. In western Tibet they 

 are not to be found during summer at lower elevations than 

 about 15,000 ft. above the sea but in the winter they 

 descend locally to some 12,000 ft. 32 



Ovis Poll 



Pamir. 

 Ovis poli. 



31 Sven Hedin, Central Asia and Tibet, Vol. II. pages 62, 210, 218. 



32 R. Lydekker, Wild Oxen, etc., page 183. 



