Overview
The smallest of all wild sheep. Coat color is bright reddish-fawn, with a large white saddle patch and a narrow white rump patch. In winter, the neck ruff is long and black. There is no bib. Muzzle, chin and throat are white, as are the underparts and lower legs. The horns are supracervical, sweeping backward and inward above the neck, with the tips sometimes only inches apart in older rams. The frontal-orbital edge is almost completely rounded off. For males, horn lengths of 23-24 inches (58-61 cm) are normal, with 28 inches (71 cm) the longest on record (Rowland Ward, 1982). Base circumferences are 7 to 8.5 inches (18-22 cm). Females are commonly hornless.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Ovis
- Species
- Mouflon, gmelini
Habitat
These mouflon inhabit mountainous forests, where they frequent high ground during summer and move down into lower valleys during winter once snow arrives.
Diet
Primarily consumes grass but will browse when necessary. Feeding is done mostly early in the morning and evening.
Behavior
They are gregarious animals and form non-territorial herds. They rest during the day under and between rocks and shade trees where they can stay well hidden. Mating season lasts from late November to early December, with females giving birth to a single lamb after a 5-6 month gestation.
Hunting
Except for a few museum specimens, to the best of our knowledge no animals have been lawfully collected since World War II.
Conservation Status
Population estimated at 200 animals in 1970, at 500-600 in 1983, at 2,000 in 1988, but down to 1,200 in 1992. Poaching has been reduced considerably, but not completely eliminated. Listed as endangered by the USF&WS (1976) and the IUCN and on Appendix I of CITES (1975). The Cyprian mouflon is the national emblem of the Republic of Cyprus.