Photo by W. P. Dando] [Regent's Park.
SIBERIAN ARGALI.
One of the large wild sheep of Central Asia.
The Argalis.
The Argalis are the largest of all living wild sheep. Some measure from 3 feet 9 inches to 4 feet at the shoulder. The horns are broad, corrugated, and curling in the male, and in the female short, erect, and curving backwards. The male Tibetan Argali has a ruff on the throat. The usual colour is a stony grey, mingled with white in the summer in the case of the old males. The name is applied collectively to several wild sheep found in Northern and Central Asia. Whether these are only varieties or separate species it is difficult to say; but the following are some of the most marked forms.
The Siberian Argali is the characteristic wild sheep of the rocky hills and mountains of Southern Siberia, the Altai Mountains, and Northern Mongolia. The horns curve so as to form more than a complete circle; the upper parts are tinged with grey, and the lower are white.
The Tibetan Argali is a little smaller in size, and has slightly smaller horns. The rams have also a large white ruff on the throat. These sheep descend in winter to the lower valleys of the Tibetan plateau, returning to the higher ground in spring. The lambs are born in May or June.
Photo by J. T. Newman] [Berkhamsted.
BARBARY SHEEP.