What is mouflon? Guide to Breeding β-Mouflons

Mouflon is a cloven-hoofed animal belonging to the genus of sheep. Forms a species in which there are 5 subspecies. Representatives of the species live in the Caucasus, Anatolia, northern and eastern regions of Iraq, northwestern Iraq, and Armenia. They live in Cyprus, where they form an endemic subspecies. They were settled in the south of continental Europe. There is a small colony on Kerguelen Island in the southern part Indian Ocean. These animals were brought to the Northern and South America for the purpose of hunting. The habitat is steep, forested mountain slopes. In winter they descend to lower altitudes.

The height at the withers reaches 85-92 cm. The body length reaches 150 cm. Males weigh on average 50 kg, females 35 kg. Males have horns. Horns are rare in females. The horns are curved almost one full turn, and their length reaches 85 cm. The tail reaches a length of 10 cm. The coat is relatively short and smooth. Its color is red-brown with dark rear stripes and light upper spots.

Reproduction and lifespan

The rutting period runs from mid-autumn to early winter. At this time, males create a certain hierarchy in order to gain access to females. This is expressed in fights. Puberty occurs at the age of 2-4 years. But young rams, after reaching sexual maturity, do not enter into relationships with females for another 3 years. Only after this period do they begin to compete with mature males. Pregnancy in females lasts 5 months. 1 or 2 cubs are born, but twins are rare. IN wildlife Mouflon lives 8-12 years.

Females with their young form herds, while males live alone. They team up with females only during the rutting season. At the same time, they achieve this privilege by engaging in battle with each other. Mouflon was successfully cloned in 2001. He lived for 7 months. This is the first clone of a critically endangered mammal.

Molting in these animals begins at last days February and ends at the end of April. In May–August, animals exhibit summer hair growth. In September, winter fur begins to appear. It is fully formed by December.

Relationship with a person

These animals have tasty meat and strong thick skin, which is why people have always hunted mouflons. It is believed that representatives of the species are the ancestors of domestic sheep. By crossing with sheep, they form improved breeds. Currently, in many parts of the world, mouflon is the object of sport hunting. The main trophy for hunters is large antlers. Hunting these representatives of the bovid family is a rather difficult task, since the animals are extremely cautious and live in places where it is difficult for people to reach.

Relatively small in size. The height at the withers in adult males ranges from 65 to 83 cm; body length 113-144 cm; main skull length 202-225 mm; live weight in autumn is about 40-50 kg, but in some cases, apparently, it can be more. Females are noticeably smaller than males; their main skull length ranges from 180 to 204 mm, live weight up to 35-36 kg.

The slender body of the mouflon rests on high and thin legs. The head is small, sits on a not too thick and long neck. The profile of the front part is straight. The ears are relatively small. The height at the sacrum is slightly higher than the height at the withers. The withers are raised, so that the line of the back in the front is somewhat concave. The tail is small, about 10 cm long. The hooves are not long, but relatively high; their length on the forelimbs is 57-63 mm, on the hind limbs 50-58 mm; hoof height: front 34-38 mm, rear hooves the same as the front, sometimes 1-2 mm more or less.

The horns of fully mature mouflons range in length along the curve of the front surface from 58 cm to 75 cm, very rarely longer. The length of the four terminal segments ranges from 35 to 55 cm. The horns are thin relative to their length; their girth: at the bases from 20 to 23 cm, rarely more, and ranges from 29.5 to 39.7% of the length of the entire horn. The mouflon's horns are set relatively steeply in relation to the longitudinal axis of the skull. With the profile of the nasal bones, their bases form an angle of about 130-150°. The curve of the horns is varied, most often homonymous, with the ends facing straight forward on the sides of the head or forward and slightly inward. But often the horns are perverted or even heteronymous, with the ends facing inward behind the head, towards each other. The cross-section of the horns is triangular at the base, with sharper posterior and anterior internal ribs and strongly rounded anterior external ribs. The longitudinal diameter of the horn section at the base from the posterior to the most convex point of the anterior internal rib ranges from 73 to 83 mm. Transverse diameter (from the middle of the inner edge to the most protruding point of the outer3 edge) - from 51 to 65 mm. The tops of the mouflon's horns are strongly compressed laterally and have only posterior and anterior ribs.

Coloring mouflons

The general color background of the European mouflon is noticeably different from other rams and is characterized by a predominance of rich blackish, brown and rusty-red tones. The color is caused by a mixture of two types of guard hairs: a) light brown from the base and gradually, without interruption, darkening to complete blackness towards the tops and b) light brown from the base, darkening in the middle part and yellow-red in the upper third, with a dark pointed top. The overall shade of color depends on the predominance of one type of hair or another. The hair of the undercoat is always yellow-brown. In full winter plumage, the body on the sides and top is reddish-brown to blackish-brown or black-brown. A brown-black stripe stretches along the midline of the back and neck, up to and including the tail. It is most distinct and widest on the back half of the neck and withers; in the middle of the back, sometimes barely noticeable. The area of ​​the withers, shoulder blades and the area near the tail on the croup are darker colored, sometimes almost black. The back of the sides and thighs are somewhat lighter.

Habitat and distribution of mouflons

The mouflon represents one of the relatively primitive races of rams, although in some respects it is more specialized in comparison not only with another island form - the Cypriot mouflon (O. orientalis ophion Blyth), but also with some of the continental forms of the genus Ovis L. Mouflon-shaped rams appeared on the territory of Europe later than the arhaloids. Their remains begin to be found from the Upper Pleistocene and are known from a number of countries in Western Europe - from Hungary, Austria, France, Holland, etc.

Currently, the distribution of European mouflon is limited to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. They undoubtedly penetrated here from the mainland before separation from the last-named islands, which occurred no earlier than the Lower Pleistocene.

Biology and lifestyle of mouflons

In Corsica and Sardinia, mouflons inhabit the elevated parts of the islands. However, even here they are not a typical mountain animal, but rather a mountain forest animal. In mountains above 2000 m normal conditions do not climb, very steep slopes and rocky places are avoided. But the presence of forest is an indispensable condition for the existence of the European mouflon. Mouflons spend the summer in a strip of light chestnut and oak forests, as well as in pine forests and clearings of deciduous plantings, where the animals find not only food, but also shade and protection during the daytime. The alpine meadows located next to the forest are open for grazing only at night.

By way of life, the mouflon is a nocturnal animal. He spends most of the day hidden in the forest. Only before sunset does it go out to the habitat, which is often located quite far from its daytime hiding places. Mouflons apparently do not have permanent transit routes. They graze all night and return to the forest before sunrise. In winter, they choose warm sunny valleys and slopes in the sun for rest and grazing. And in summer, during hot daytime hours, they seek coolness in the shade of bushes and trees.

Mouflon feeding

In summer, mouflons eat a variety of vegetation in their habitats: grass, heather, vegetative parts of blueberries, foliage of bushes and trees. Among mouflons bred in Austria, the favorite food is milkweed. In autumn, they greedily eat acorns and beech nuts. In winter they feed on the above-snow parts of plants; Mouflons apparently cannot dig out food from under the snow. At this time, they eat dried grass sticking out from under the snow, thin branches, pine shoots, as well as tree lichens. In contrast to many other ungulates, which cut only the tops of grasses, all sheep, thanks to the structure of hypsodont incisors, cut the grass almost at the very root.

Mouflon breeding

Males and females of mouflons can reach sexual maturity at the age of one and a half years. Females usually become fertilized in the second year, and at the age of two they give birth to their first lamb. Males practically begin to participate in reproduction no earlier than in the third or fourth year of life, since they are driven away earlier by stronger adult rams.

Pregnancy in female mouflon lasts about five months. Childbirth occurs from late March to late April, occasionally in May. Before lambing, as already mentioned, the female moves away from the herd and somewhere in a secluded place brings one, or less often two, lambs. Immediately after birth, the lamb can stand on its feet; at this moment it can still be caught, but after a few hours it can follow its mother and capture becomes difficult. Unlike many other ungulates, wild sheep lambs do not hide in case of danger, but always try to escape. After a few weeks, when the lambs are finally stronger, the females join the herds, and the lambs of the previous year begin to go with them, but the females avoid adult rams, since they are unfriendly to the lambs.

The lifespan of the European mouflon in natural conditions and when kept semi-free in parks is determined to be 7-8 years; but when kept in zoos and gardens under special conditions favorable conditions.live up to 10-14 years, and in exceptional cases even up to 19 years old.

In a natural environment, crossing domestic sheep with mouflons occurs very rarely. It was artificially obtained large number mouflon hybrids with different breeds domestic sheep.

Infraclass - placental

Genus - rams

Species - mouflon or European mouflon

Literature:

1. I.I. Sokolov "Fauna of the USSR, Hoofed Animals" Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1959.

Guide to Breeding β-Mouflons
(intended for agricultural cooperatives in high mountain areas)

1. Classification (standard)

Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrates
Class: Mammals
Infraclass: Placental
Order: Artiodactyls
Suborder: Ruminants
Family: Bovids
Genus: Rams
Type: β-mouflon

2. Bradley-Gromov classification

Mutation index/original species 3/domestic sheep
Dominance over the original species
V natural environment habitat +
Activation of recessive genes standard
Spontaneous mutations
stable radiation background ≈ 0.5%

3. Description of appearance

β-Mouflon is a cloven-hoofed ruminant with straight white (sometimes light gray) hair. In adult individuals, the length of the coat reaches 35 cm. Males have two pairs of horns. The outer pair is coiled (1.5-2 turns depending on age), covering the sides of the neck; the inner pair of horns curve down over the animal's snout and are used as a ramming weapon in fighting during the breeding season. Females have one pair of spiral-shaped horns (2.5-3 turns) covering the sides of the neck. The color of the horns is beige in young animals and steel in adult animals. Legs are strong, well adapted for long journeys over mountainous terrain. Adult females usually weigh 65-120 kg, while larger males weigh 90-150 kg. The height at the withers of adult animals is: for males - 140-160 cm, for females - 110-120 cm. β-mouflons have 36 teeth: 6 paired molars (top and bottom), 6 paired premolars (bottom and top), 4 canines (2 pairs from below) and 8 incisors (from below). The tail does not exceed 10 cm in length and is usually not noticeable against the background of the fur.

4. Habits and behavioral characteristics

β-Mouflons are characterized by increased reproduction. Under favorable conditions environment and a sufficient amount of food, females give birth to 4-6 lambs twice a year (in mid-spring and mid-autumn). Reaching sexual maturity occurs at 1.5 years. During the half-season mating is normal public organizationβ-mouflons (20-30 dominant males and 600-1500 females with young) is changing. Young males who have reached sexual maturity form a group and beat the dominant males to death, after which they mate with all the females who have reached sexual maturity. Regulation of the number of males occurs in the next 1.5-2 weeks after mating - 20-30 new dominant males kill weaker rivals.
All attempts to separate one individual or group of individuals from the general herd resulted in refusal to eat and death of the animal/animals within 2-3 weeks.
If a female dies, her lambs are adopted by other adult females.
β-Mouflons eat fresh grass or hay, tree bark and young shoots of bushes. Cases of eating insects and eggs of mountain turkeys are described.
β-Mouflons have acute hearing and sense of smell. At the same time, the animals' vision is not sufficiently developed, which is explained by the limitation of the viewing angle by spiral-shaped horns and thick hair on the face. An abrupt light/shadow transition can cause panic in the animal, which, taking into account the strong herd instinct of β-mouflons, instantly spreads to the entire herd.
When attacked by predators, females gather around the young, and dominant males attack, ramming the attacker at a speed of 50-60 km/h. There were no recorded cases of aggression towards humans.
The growth of the herd population under favorable environmental conditions is approximately 20-25% per year (taking into account attacks by predators, diseases, losses when crossing rivers and overcoming gorges and mountain ranges).

Adult β-mouflon can withstand temperatures down to -50°C. During the first year of life, young animals are less frost-resistant, but due to the fact that the temperature in the middle of the herd rarely drops below -15°C in winter, animals can be grazed throughout the year. In autumn and spring, it is recommended to graze the flock on flat areas, which allows the lambs to get stronger before dangerous mountain crossings.
Hair trimming is done every three months, starting from the age of 1.5 years of the animal. The minimum length of fleece required for an adult β-mouflon is 12 cm.
The blood of an animal can be used for food within 10 hours after slaughter. β-Mouflon meat is stored, frozen and used for food, like the meat of any animal with a mutation index of 3.

Appearance

On average, mouflons reach a length of 130 cm. Height is 90 cm, weight is 50 kg for males and 35 kg for females.

Behavior

The distribution area is mountainous landscapes. Females and lambs together form a herd of up to 100 individuals, while males are solitary and join the herd only during mating. Males are characterized by the presence of strong hierarchical connections within the community.

Spreading

Currently, mouflon is distributed in the Armenian Plateau (for example, in the Khosrov Nature Reserve in Armenia), northern Iraq, and northwestern Iran. Previously found in the Armenian Highlands, Crimea and the Balkans. Mouflon disappeared from these areas approximately 3,000 years ago. There is also mouflon in Cyprus, Corsica and Sardinia: however, it remains controversial whether these are true wild sheep or descendants of the original domestic sheep.

Mouflons and humans

Hunting for mouflons has been going on for a long time. About 10,000 years ago, humans began to domesticate mouflons and as a result, domestic sheep appeared. It is believed that most likely the place of the first domestication was the Armenian Highlands. Domestic sheep appeared in Western Europe approximately 8000 years ago.

Notes

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Synonyms:

See what "Muflon" is in other dictionaries:

- (French). An animal of the ram family, found in southern Europe. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. MOUFLON wild sheep, on the mountains of Corsica and Sardinia. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language.... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Ram, mufflo Dictionary of Russian synonyms. mouflon noun, number of synonyms: 11 argali (5) arkar ... Dictionary of synonyms

MOUFLON, mouflon, man. (French mouflon) (zool.). Wild sheep. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Husband. animal stone ram, arkar, argali. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. V.I. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

mouflon- a, m. mouflon m, it. mufflone. 1. Wild sheep found on some islands Mediterranean Sea. BAS 1. 2. Stupid, narrow-minded person. Sl. slang 1992. 3. Stubborn person. Sl. slang 1992. Lex. SAN 1847: mufflo/n... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

mouflon- MUFEL, fla, MUFLON, a, m., MUFLO, a, s. Iron. appeal; often used like a friend Wed. “Mouflon” is a type of argali (genus of sheep); Poss. also the influence of muda, commonly used. simple “murlo” muzzle, face, bullshit, bullshit... Dictionary of Russian argot

- (Ovis ammon musimon) subspecies of argali; ruminant artiodactyl animal of the genus ram (See Rams) ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (Ovis musimon Schreb; see Sheep, Table II. Fig. 2), mufrone (ram), mufra (sheep) wild sheep, on high mountains Corsica and Sardinia, the only wild sheep in Europe. The coat is quite short, smooth-lying, long on the chest, the upper side... Encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

M. 1. The name of the year in the system of Avestan astrology and the Zoroastrian thirty-two-year calendar system, which assumes that each year corresponds to a sacred animal (totem), creating an image of the best traits of human character. 2. transfer... ... Modern explanatory dictionary Russian language Efremova

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Mouflon(Ovis gmelini)

Class - mammals
Order - artiodactyls

Family - bovids

Subfamily - goats

Genus - rams

Appearance

On average, mouflons reach a length of 130 cm. Height is 90 cm, weight is 50 kg for males and 35 kg for females. The general color is reddish-brown with a dark stripe along the back and faint shading spots on the sides. The bottom is white. The muzzle and circles around the eyes are also white.

Males have horns, females may or may not have horns.

In winter they grow a thick undercoat.

Habitat

Currently, mouflon is distributed in the Armenian Plateau (for example, in the Khosrov Nature Reserve in Armenia), in northern Iraq, and in northwestern Iran. There is also mouflon in Cyprus, Corsica and Sardinia: however, it remains controversial whether these are true wild sheep or descendants of the original domestic sheep.

They prefer mountainous landscapes. But, unlike goats, rams are not normally native to the rocky mountains. Open mountain stations with calm relief are more typical: plateaus, gentle slopes, rounded peaks. True, rams do not avoid and even have the habit of staying in places where areas of calm relief are combined with gorges, deep ravines or rock ledges. But gorges and cliffs serve the sheep only as places of rest and shelter from the heat and winter weather. A necessary condition The habitat of mouflons, in addition to the presence of good pasture and broad horizons, is also the proximity of a watering source.

Lifestyle

Females and lambs together form a herd of up to 100 individuals, while males are solitary and join the herd only during mating. Males are characterized by the presence of strong hierarchical connections within the community.

In most areas where mouflon is distributed, seasonal migrations are weak or absent altogether. Usually only minor vertical movements of populations occur. As already noted, in the summer, rams rise higher into the mountains, obviously attracted by the cooler climate and a better supply of lush green food. For the winter they descend to the lower mountain range. There are irregular migrations of rams in dry years due to a lack of feed and drinking moisture.

Mouflons run fast: their running is so fast and agile that “you can’t see how the animal touches the ground.” If necessary, they make high, up to 1.5 m, and long jumps, and easily jump over bushes and stones. They often jump down from heights of up to 10 m; when jumping, the head and horns are thrown back, the front and hind legs are closed together, landing on legs widely spaced.

Within their chosen habitat, mouflons lead relatively sedentary image life, stick to certain places resting, feeding and watering. When crossing, they use the same paths, as a result of which, in areas where there are many sheep, they trample down noticeable paths.

During the day, during hot sunny hours, sheep take refuge in gorges, under rock overhangs or in the shade large trees. They go out for feeding (grazing) in the summer when the heat subsides. They feed until dusk. Drink at sunset or early in the night. At night, at least for some time, they rest. At dawn they drink again and head to the mountains, where they graze near their daytime resting areas until the heat sets in.

The bedding of rams is apparently constant; they look like trampled rather deep, up to 1.5 m, holes, sometimes even burrows, going under rocks, roots of bushes and trees, or simply under overhanging slopes. Digging deep beds is apparently intended not so much for camouflage as for protection from the harmful effects of high temperature.

IN winter time sheep graze all daylight hours. In severe cold and bad weather, they take refuge in deep gorges protected from the wind or in rocks.

The basis of mouflon nutrition is summer period consists of a variety of grasses: feather grass, fescue and wheatgrass.

In winter, sheep feed on the remains of dry grass sticking out from under the snow and graze in snow-free areas. Mouflons apparently have little ability to dig out grass from under the snow. If there is a lack of other food in winter, they eat thin branches of bushes and even gnaw the bark.

Mouflons have well-developed hearing, smell, and vision. The most acute sense of smell. Mouflons are very sensitive and cautious animals. It is believed that it is impossible to approach them closer than 300 steps from the leeward side. Often, even when they see a person, they can smell him in the wind 300-400 steps away and further. Females are especially careful with lambs. On the other hand, mouflons often show signs of curiosity. Seeing a person, if he is moving calmly, they sometimes look at him without moving, and allow him to walk two hundred steps away. When running, they sometimes stop and look back.

Reproduction

Mouflons reach sexual maturity and begin to participate in reproduction in the third year of life. In some animals, estrus occurs at the end of October. The massive rut of rams in most areas occurs from mid-November to the first half of December.

At this time, animals keep in herds of up to 10-15 animals, in which there are one or two, or even more adult males. Apparently, males do not expel each other from the herd, but fights occur between them. Having dispersed about twenty meters, they quickly approach each other and strike with force with the bases of their horns, so that the sound of the impact in the mountains can be heard 2-3 km away. Sometimes males lock horns, lead each other around, fumble, fall, and make moaning sounds. However, in contrast to, for example, deer, tired males stop fighting and both peacefully remain in the herd, so that all the rams in the herd can participate in covering the females. After some time, the fight may resume. There are no known cases of severe injury or murder during fights. But at this time the males lose their usual caution and more often than usual become victims of a hunter or predatory animal.

Females behave calmly during estrus and fights between males. The courtship of wild rams towards females is similar to what is observed among domestic sheep: the male follows the female with a quiet bleat, rubs his neck against her sides, and tries to cover her. At the end of the sexual season, the males do not separate from the herds and remain with the females until spring.

Pregnancy in wild mouflons, like in domestic sheep, lasts about five months. The first cases of lambing can take place as early as the end of March, but generally the birth of young animals occurs in the second half of April and the first half of May.

Before lambing, females separate from the herd and go alone into deep gorges or rocky areas, where they give birth to lambs in secluded places. Mostly they bring two lambs, less often one or three (very rare cases when there were even four lambs).

Lambs are fed with their mothers' milk until September or October, but they begin to consume green food a little earlier, from the age of one month. The voice of mouflon babies differs little from the voice of a domestic lamb. By the age of one year, young mouflons reach slightly more than two-thirds of the height of adults and about one-third of their weight. Full height they reach height by 4-5 years, but the increase in body length and live weight continues until 7 years.

Life expectancy in a natural environment does not exceed 12 years.

In captivity, the mouflon is easily tamed, completely losing its fear of humans. When crossed with domestic sheep, it produces fertile offspring.

They are usually fed sheep feed and hay.

The average life expectancy in captivity is 19 years.