OVIS HODGSON I 
r HIS sheep is called Nyan by the natives and is frequently 
spoken of as Ovis amtnon by sportsmen; but the true ammon 
inhabits the Altai Mountains. 
The Ovis hodgsoni is found in Ladak, Changchenmo and 
Western Tibet; his horns do not seem to vary much in 
shape, and nearly always curve in close to the cheeks. 
Those of the great sheep further north usually have a much longer tip 
to tip measurement, sometimes approximating to the Ovis poli in type, 
though thicker at the base. 
Like all wild sheep the coat of Ovis hodgsoni is composed of hair and 
not wool. The horns of old rams are nearly always broken at the tips 
from fighting. 
The size of a ram’s horns is much more difficult to estimate than those of 
an ibex, and as the sportsman is only allowed to kill one on his licence, the 
greatest care must be taken not to make a mistake and shoot a small 
specimen. 
In summer the old rams are generally found apart from their ewes, 
and, owing to their acute power of smell and the fact that they usually 
lie up in the middle of the day in a comparatively open place, are par- 
ticularly difficult animals to stalk. In Ladak the wind is very shifty, and 
walking at this high altitude is trying work. As the ground is seldom very 
steep a pair of rubber -soled boots will be found useful. 
Ovis hodgsoni is said to be migratory in his habits, and he certainly 
wanders a good deal, for places where these sheep are sometimes seen 
in fair numbers at other seasons hold none at all. Now that the “block ’’ 
system has been introduced for their further protection the total number 
that can be shot each season has been materially reduced. Hitherto the 
twenty “guns” allowed into Ladak — both first and second leave — were 
each allowed to kill one, and it is to be hoped that the new regulations 
will be found sufficient for the preservation of these fine sheep. 
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