Wild sheep

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arkal ( Ovis cycloceros arkal ), a subspecies of the Afghan Urial sheep

Different types of sheep are grouped together as wild sheep . They were originally considered to belong to a species ( Ovis orientalis ). A distinction is made between two groups, the steppe wild sheep or Urial and the western wild sheep or mouflon .

distribution and habitat

The western group of wild sheep, the mouflons, are common in the Caucasus , northern Iraq and northwestern Iran . Once their area of ​​distribution extended beyond Anatolia , the Crimea and the Balkans . It disappeared here around 3000 years ago. However, there are still mouflons on Cyprus , Corsica and Sardinia ; However, it is disputed whether these are real wild sheep or descendants of very original domestic sheep.

The distribution area of ​​the steppe sheep or urial connects to that of the mouflon in the east and extends from northeastern Iran and western Kazakhstan to Balochistan and Ladakh . In a transitional area in Northern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea, the urial and mouflon cross under natural conditions.

Another form of sheep, the larger Argalis, lives east of the range . In Ladakh, where the distribution areas of Argalis and Uriale meet, some Argalis live in the immediate vicinity of Ladakh wild sheep. Here, however, the Argalis prefer higher areas.

Appearance

European mouflon ram

Wild sheep are smaller than Argalis, and their horns do not reach the dimensions of their eastern relatives. Mouflons have a head body length of 130 centimeters, a body height of 90 centimeters and a weight of 50 (males) or 35 kilograms (females). Urials are similar in size, with a shoulder height of 80 to 90 cm and a body weight of 35 to 90 kg. Instead, the urials have a distinctive, stately neck mane, which is black or white depending on the species. The basic color is light brown with a white underside. Some species have a white saddle mark .

Existence and hazard situation

By trophy hunting and competition with domestic livestock, the Uriale are threatened anywhere in their stock. In their open habitats, the animals are often not too difficult to kill, although they are generally considered shy. All representatives of the urials are decreasing and today there are probably no more than 40,000 urials worldwide.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) lists wild sheep in the Red List of Endangered Species as Vulnerable .

Way of life

In Central Europe, the European mouflon only lives in zoos

The habitat are mountainous landscapes. Here, females and lambs form herds of up to a hundred animals, while the bucks are solitary animals who only come to the herds during the mating season .

Subspecies

Western wild sheep or mouflons

Holocene range of wild sheep and today's distribution of species and forms
Armenian Wild Sheep ( Ovis gmelini ) Chai Bar Karmel game reserve in Israel

In 2005, Peter Grubb distinguished six subspecies of the mouflons , similar to the IUCN at the moment, but it does not list the domestic sheep or the forms possibly derived from it, the European mouflon and the Cyprus mouflon. A revision of the horn bearers from 2011 by Colin Peter Groves and Peter Grubb, on the other hand, identified a total of three types:

  • Armenian wild sheep or Armenian mouflon ( Ovis gmelini Blyth , 1841); Caucasus region, northwest Iran and southern part of Asia Minor . The shoulder height is 88 to 94 cm, the horns are curved backwards in a negative helical shape, the horn length is up to 67 cm, the circumference of the horns at the base is between 22 and 27 cm. Females are partially polled. The fur color varies between rust-red and cinnamon-colored, with the males there is usually a light flank patch of variable size on the sides. The chest and underside are characterized by elongated, dark hairs that do not, however, extend to the throat. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1774 as Ovis orientalis , but the nomenclature status of O. orientalis is controversial as the description of the origin concerned a hybrid population in the Elburs Mountains , where Armenian wild sheep and Afghan Urial sheep overlap; In general, the scientific name O orientalis is therefore not available. The domestic sheep ( Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758 ) may also go back to the Armenian mouflon .
  • Isphahan wild sheep ( Ovis isphahani Nasonov , 1910); Zagros Mountains in Iran.
  • Laristan wild sheep ( Ovis laristanica Nasonov , 1909); The Laristan mouflon is small. Adult bucks hardly exceed 75 pounds in body weight. The distribution area is limited to a few reserves near the city of Lar in southern Iran. The habitat there are hot desert areas .

The mouflons also include the European mouflon and the Cyprus mouflon, which may be traced back to the Armenian wild sheep. The European mouflon arrived around the fifth millennium BC. BC to Corsica and Sardinia and was introduced into almost all of Europe . The Cyprus mouflon was almost extinct in the course of the 20th century, but has since been brought to a population of 2000 through protective measures. According to estimates from 1997, however, the population has fallen back to 1200 as a result of diseases , which is why the form is highly endangered.

Steppe wild sheep or urials

Grubb (2005) distinguished three subspecies of the urial in this group , while Groves' and Grubbs Revision (2011) recognized five types:

  • Oman wild sheep ( Ovis arabica Sopin & Harrison , 1986); Oman ; originally described as a representative of the Argalis , the animals are more similar to the Urials ; due to a lack of data, the risk is unclear
  • Tajikistan wild sheep ( Ovis bochariensis Nasonov , 1914); Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, north of the Amu Darya and Pyanj rivers ; In the 1990s there were probably still around 1200 animals, the numbers are falling
  • Afghan Urial sheep or Turkmenistan wild sheep or circular horn sheep ( Ovis cycloceros Hutton , 1842); Uzbekistan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , eastern Iran , Afghanistan , northern Pakistan , Kashmir , Punjab and Balochistan ; the Arkal or Trans-Caspian Urial ( O. c. arkal ) of the Ustyurt Plateau (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, northern Iran) and western Kazakhstan is considered a subspecies; Both populations flow into one another in southern Turkmenistan on the border with Afghanistan and Iran, although the former seem to be more in the west, the latter in the east, for example in the Badkhyz nature reserve ; endangered, the Arkal population may be less than 11,000 animals, 1,500 of which live in Golestan National Park in northern Iran
  • Punjab wild sheep ( Ovis punjabiensis Lydekker , 1913); Punjab in Norpakistan between the Indus and Jhelam rivers
  • Ladakh wild sheep ( Ovis vignei Blyth , 1841); Ladakh in northern Pakistan and India, distribution area only incoherently; old bucks are copper-red in summer with a white saddle mark and black mane, the underside white; endangered, around 2100 animals.

Relationship with people

Mouflons have always been hunted by humans. An estimated 10,000 years ago mouflons were domesticated and domestic sheep have been around since then . Anatolia is considered to be the most likely place of first domestication. Domestic sheep have also existed in Western Europe for around 8,000 years.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ovis orientalis in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013. Listed by: Valdez, R., 2008. Retrieved on March 17, 2013.
  2. ^ A b Peter Grubb: Order Perissodactyla . In: Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World . A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference . 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , pp. 637-722 (pp. 708-710).
  3. ^ A b Colin P. Groves, David M. Leslie Jr .: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 727-739.
  4. ^ A b Colin Groves, Peter Grubb: Ungulate Taxonomy. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011, pp. 1–317 (SS 108–280)

literature

  • Colin Peter Groves, Peter Grubb: Ungulate Taxonomy. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011, pp. 1-317 (S, pp. 108-280)
  • Colin Peter Groves, David M. Leslie Jr .: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 727-739.
  • RM Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore / London 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
  • SH Prater: The Book of Indian Animals. Oxford University Press, 1971, ISBN 0-19-562169-7 .
  • V. Menon: A Field Guide to Indian Mammals. Dorling Kindersley , India 2003, ISBN 0-14-302998-3 .
  • VG Heptner: Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol. I: Ungulates . Leiden / New York 1989, ISBN 90-04-08874-1 .

Web links

Commons : Wild Sheep ( Ovis orientalis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files