Altai mountain sheep [3] , or Altai sheep [4] , or argali [3] , or Tien Shan sheep [5] , or Altai argali , or Altai argali [1] ( lat. Ovis ammon ammon [6] ) - a cloven-hoofed mammal from the bovine family, a subspecies of argali ( Ovis ammon ).
| Altai Mountain Ram |
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| Scientific classification |
|---|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Subtype : | Altai Mountain Ram |
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| International scientific name |
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Ovis ammon ammon
( Linnaeus , 1758 ) |
| Synonyms |
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- Ovis ammon Linnaeus , 1758 [1] [2]
- Ovis argali Boddaert, 1785 [2]
- Ovis argali altaica Severtsov, 1873 [2]
- Ovis argali dauricia Severtsov, 1873 [2]
- Ovis argali mongolica Severtsov, 1873 [2]
- Ovis ammon przevalski Nasonov, 1923 [2]
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| Security status |
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Close to vulnerableIUCN 3.1 Near Threatened : 15733 |
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The Red Book of Russia
the view disappears |
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Content
The Altai mountain ram is the largest representative of the sheep genus ( Ovis ), in addition, it has the heaviest horns . Their weight in adult males can reach up to 35 kg [7] .
Height at the withers - 70-125 cm, body length - 1.2-2 m, tail length 13-14 cm, body weight - 70-180 kg. Life expectancy is 12-18 years.
Representatives of the subspecies have a squat torso, thin but strong limbs. The end of the muzzle is significantly lighter than the color of the head and back of the animal.
Pregnancy lasts 5 months. The newborn lamb is able to move itself and immediately adjoins the herd.
Two populations can be distinguished in the populations of Altai mountain sheep. The first is females and young individuals, the second is males. During the breeding season, which runs from January to February, the males compete with each other, striking the enemy with horns in the sides and chest.
Natural enemies are snow leopards and wolves .
Nutrition
The diet consists of herbs - cereals and sedges .
Waiting for winter in the valleys, and in the spring rise in the mountains. They live on rocky slopes and mountain pastures at an altitude of 2400 to 2800 m above sea level [8] .
Altai mountain sheep. Coin of the Bank of Russia - Series: Red Book, silver, 1 ruble, 2001
It lives in the mountain systems of the Mongolian and Gobi Altai , as well as in individual ridges and massifs in East Kazakhstan , Southeast Altai, Southwest Tuva and Mongolia [9] .
Local hunters kill Altai mountain rams for the sake of their horns , used in Chinese traditional medicine . Due to the fact that these animals live in remote areas, it is impossible to control their numbers.
- ↑ 1 2 Castello JR (2016) Bovids of the World: Antelopes, Gazelles, Cattle, Goats, Sheep, and Relatives . - Princeton University Press. - Pp. 370-371. - 664 p. - ISBN 978-0-691-16717-6
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Groves C., Grubb P. 2011. Ungulate Taxonomy . - The Johns Hopkins University Press. - Pp. 240. - 310 p. - ISBN 1-4214-0093-6
- ↑ 1 2 Red Book of the USSR : Rare and Endangered Species of Animals and Plants. Volume 1 / Home Ed. Collegium: A. M. Borodin, A. G. Bannikov , V. E. Sokolov , etc. - 2nd ed. - M .: Forest industry, 1984. - S. 79. - 392 p.
- ↑ Mammals. Big Encyclopedic Dictionary / scientific. ed. Pavlinov I. Ya. - M .: LLC "Publishing House ACT" LLC, 1999. - P. 15. - 416 p. - ISBN 5-237-03132-3
- ↑ Bannikov A.G. , Flint V.E. Order Artiodactyls (Artiodactyla) // Animal Life. Volume 7. Mammals / ed. V. E. Sokolova . - 2nd ed. - M .: Education, 1989 .-- S. 505. - 558 p. - ISBN 5-09-001434-5
- ↑ Harris R. B., Reading R. 2008. Ovis ammon . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008.
- ↑ Rashid Jamsheed , “Memories of a Sheep Hunter”, Safari Press (1996, 2nd edition) ISBN 1-57157-021-7
- ↑ http://www.sevin.ru/laboratories/abaturov/ovis_ammon.pdf
- ↑ Altai State Nature Reserve “ On the issue of the modern distribution of the Altai mountain sheep - argali (Ovis ammon ammon L.) ” Read 2007-09-25
