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The argali, or the mountain sheep (species Ovis ammon) is the globally endangered wild sheep
Ovis

A sheep is an individual of any of the five or more mammal species that comprise the genus Ovis, part of the goat antelope subfamily. Sheep are bovids and ruminants, meaning they chew cud....
, which roams the highlands of Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
 (Himalaya, Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
, Altay
Altay Mountains

File:2006-07_altaj_belucha.jpgThe Altai Mountains are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh, Ob River and Yenisei have their sources....
). It is also the biggest wild sheep, standing as high as 120 cm and weighing as much as 140 kg. The Pamir
Pamir Mountains

The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, and Hindu Kush ranges....
 argali (also called Marco Polo sheep
Marco Polo sheep

Marco Polo sheep is a subspecies of Ovis, specifically of Argali, that takes its name from famed explorer Marco Polo who described the species during his crossing of Afghanistan in 1271.....
, for they were first described by that traveller) may attain more than 6 feet in length.

The general colouration varies between each animal, from a lightish yellow to a dark grey-brown.






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The argali, or the mountain sheep (species Ovis ammon) is the globally endangered wild sheep
Ovis

A sheep is an individual of any of the five or more mammal species that comprise the genus Ovis, part of the goat antelope subfamily. Sheep are bovids and ruminants, meaning they chew cud....
, which roams the highlands of Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
 (Himalaya, Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
, Altay
Altay Mountains

File:2006-07_altaj_belucha.jpgThe Altai Mountains are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh, Ob River and Yenisei have their sources....
). It is also the biggest wild sheep, standing as high as 120 cm and weighing as much as 140 kg. The Pamir
Pamir Mountains

The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, and Hindu Kush ranges....
 argali (also called Marco Polo sheep
Marco Polo sheep

Marco Polo sheep is a subspecies of Ovis, specifically of Argali, that takes its name from famed explorer Marco Polo who described the species during his crossing of Afghanistan in 1271.....
, for they were first described by that traveller) may attain more than 6 feet in length.

The general colouration varies between each animal, from a lightish yellow to a dark grey-brown. The face is lighter. Males have a whitish neck ruff and a dorsal crest. Males have two large corkscrew horns, some measuring 190 cm/ 6.3 ft in length. Males use their horns for competing with one another. Females also carry horns, but much smaller.

Argalis live in herds between 2 and 100 animals, segregated by sex, except during breeding season. Migrating herds, especially males, have been reported. With long legs, herds can travel quickly from place to place. Argalis tend to live at higher elevations during the summer.

Argalis are considered endangered or threatened throughout their entire range, due to habitat loss from overgrazing of domestic sheep and hunting. They are hunted for both their meat and their horns, used in traditional Chinese medicine. Legal hunting of trophies has also added to the mortality.

Some sources classify mouflon
Mouflon

The mouflon , sometimes known as the Cyprus mouflon, is a subspecies group of the wild ovis Ovis orientalis. Populations of Ovis orientalis can be partitioned into the mouflons or milligans and urials or arkars ....
 as Ovis ammon musimon. However, DNA testing has not supported this. Several subspecies of argali have been genetically tested for mtDNA and one study found that the subspecies Ovis ammon ammon, O. ammon darwini and the urial
Urial

The 'Urial' , also known as the 'Arkars' or 'Shapo', is a subspecies group of the wild ovis O. orientalis. The other subspecies group of O....
 subspecies, O. vignei bochariensis grouped closely while the subspecies Ovis ammon collium and O. ammon nigrimontana grouped with the urial subspecies O. vignei arkal.

Subspecies


  • Altai argali
    Altai argali

    Altai argali is a traditional subspecies of argali, wild sheep that roam the highlands of Altai Mountains.Altai argali are the largest of all sheep, with the heaviest horns, those of mature males normally 45-50 and up to 75 pounds....
    , (Ovis ammon ammon)
  • Kuruktag argali, (Ovis ammon adametzi)
  • Anatolian argali, (Ovis ammon anatolica)
  • Gobi argali, (Ovis ammon darwini)
  • Gansu argali, (Ovis ammon dalailamae)
  • Karaganda argali, (Ovis ammon collium)
  • Hangay argali, (Ovis ammon hangaii)
  • Tibetan argali, (Ovis ammon hodgsoni)
  • Hume argali, (Ovis ammon humei)
  • North China argali, (Ovis ammon jubata)
  • Tian Shan argali, (Ovis ammon karelini)
  • Littledale argali, (Ovis ammon littledalei)
  • Kara Tau argali, (Ovis ammon nigrimontana)
  • Marco Polo argali
    Marco Polo sheep

    Marco Polo sheep is a subspecies of Ovis, specifically of Argali, that takes its name from famed explorer Marco Polo who described the species during his crossing of Afghanistan in 1271.....
    , (Ovis ammon polii)
  • Sair argali, (Ovis ammon sairensis)
  • Severtzov argali, (Ovis ammon severtzovi)


Further reading

  • Namgail, T., Fox, J.L. & Bhatnagar, Y.V. (2007). Habitat shift and time budget of the Tibetan argali: the influence of livestock grazing. Ecological Research, 22: 25-31.
  • Namgail, T. (2007). Vigilance behaviour of the Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Acta Zoologica Sinica, 53: 195-200.
  • Namgail, T., Fox, J.L. & Bhatnagar, Y.V. (2004). Habitat segregation between sympatric Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Journal of Zoology (London), 262: 57-63.
  • Namgail, T. (2003). Gya-Miru: last refuge of the Tibetan argali. Sanctuary Asia. 23: 16-21.
  • Namgail, T., Fox, J.L. & Bhatnagar, Y.V. (2003). Interactions between Argali and livestock in the Proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary.