AMMON.
The OORIAL and the SHAPOO are bearded Sheep, from Ladakh and the Suliman range of the Punjab respectively, with large horns, which form not more than half a circle in the Shapoo and nearly a complete one in the Oorial. The colour of the Oorial is a reddish-brown above, paler beneath, the abdomen being white. A lengthy dark beard, reaching to the knees, fringes the whole length of the neck from the chin to the chest. The points of the horns are directed inwards. It is found at altitudes of 2,000 feet. The Shapoo is brownish-grey, white below, with a short brown beard. Its horns turn outwards at the tips. It is never found at altitudes lower than 12,000 feet.
The MOUFLON at one time abounded in Spain, but is now restricted to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The species is a small one, of a brownish-grey colour, with a dark streak along the middle of the back, at the same time that there is a varying amount of white about the face and legs. The horns, present in the males only, are proportionately not large, curve backwards and then inwards at the tips. The tail is very short, in which respect they differ strikingly from the domestic Sheep, to which otherwise they are intimately related. The Mouflon frequents the summits of its native hills in small herds, headed by an old ram. Its skin is used by the mountaineers for making jackets. It breeds freely with the domestic species.
AMMON.
The AMMON of Tibet has been known to measure as much as four feet and an inch at the shoulder, and has a most imposing appearance on account of the erect attitude in which it holds its head. Its horns attain a great size, being sometimes as much as four feet long and twenty-two inches in circumference at their bases, forming a single sweep of about four-fifths of a circle, their points being turned slightly outwards and ending bluntly. Its body colour is dark brown above, paler posteriorly and below. A mane surrounds its neck, white in the male, dark brown in the female. The tail measures only an inch in length. In the female the horns do not exceed twenty-two inches in length.
The BURHEL, or Himalayan “blue wild Sheep,” stands three feet at the shoulder, and has horns which, commencing very close together on the forehead, describe a half circle of two feet or so, and are directed very much outwards and backwards. In the female the horns do not exceed eight inches in length, and stand backward instead of diverging. The coarse fleece of winter is of an ashy-blue colour, which, in summer, is replaced by one that is much darker. The abdomen is white, and a black stripe runs along each side of the body, the front of the legs and the chest being also black. It has no beard.
The AMERICAN ARGALI, or BIG-HORN, inhabits the range of the Rocky Mountains. Its height is three and a half feet at the shoulder. The horns form a complete circle, and are nearly three feet long in the male. They are said to come so far forward and downward that old rams find it impossible to feed on level ground. Its flesh is peculiarly well flavoured.
The WILD SHEEP OF BARBARY, known also as the TRAGELAPHUS, is a large and handsome species, with a comparatively lengthy tail, tufted at its end. The hair on the chin is short, whilst that along the lower margin of the neck, as well as on the front of the knees, attains a great length. The horns are not massive, and hardly exceed two feet in length. They are black, and are directed outward as well as backward.