CENTRAL ASIA 
the north-east of Sairam Nor, which is of no altitude and does not form 
much of a retreat, is inhabited by wild sheep. On the barren sheep country 
on the southern slopes of the Ala Tau, I have seen good-sized wapiti, 
refugees, maybe, from the hunted forests on the northern slopes. 
Whilst in the locality an expedition should be made towards the north- 
east, where an isolated group of mountains exists which are the home 
of a peculiar variety of wild sheep — Ovis sairensis. The area it inhabits is 
composed of the Barlik and Maili ranges, besides the Sair and probably the 
jumble of mountains to its south, such as the Urkashar and Jair uplifts. 
We have seen old horns as far east as the Naryn Kara range to the north 
of Ulungur Lake, and they are fairly numerous in some very difficult 
country which immediately overlooks the depression containing the lakes 
of Ebi Nor and Ala Kul. This country is only five days’ journey from the 
Borotala. In summer it is a pleasant region of undulating grassy hills, 
featureless as a whole, but very broken in detail, and the hunting of wild 
sheep in such a locality is exasperating work. The altitude is not high, 
and it may be that large heads do not exist there. The Chagan-oba and 
Dzusau ranges are more likely places, but they are rather overrun by 
nomads, large encampments of Kirghiz spending the summer in the 
Upper Koslio Valley. 
The Sair Mountains, where Mr St. George Littledale first obtained his 
type specimen, can be reached in about a week’s trek, and it is all on the 
road should the traveller be making for the Altai hunting grounds. 
The Ovis sairensis is a smaller sheep than the karelini of the Ala Tau, 
with horns more of the ammon type, being thick and well curled, without 
a wide spread. The largest known head is 47| inches. There is much to be 
learnt with regard to this sheep, which seems to be intermediate in type 
between the ammon and the poli. Knowledge of its range and habits are 
both needed. 
The remainder of the Tian Shan is made up of the very high and im- 
pregnable country to the east of the Yulduz at the head of the Manas River. 
So far as I know no sportsman has tried this ground. We know from our 
own observations that wild -sheep exist, in winter, on the low foothills 
at the northern base of the range in the vicinity of Shi-Kho; apparently 
they are also found in the same low type of country on the southern foothills 
as well. These may be wanderers from more permanent abodes in the 
heart of the mountains, or they may be the remnant of once numerous 
colonies which permanently inhabited the low country. There is certainly 
147 
