One of the types of "animal climbers", that is, living high in the mountains, are mountain sheep. These dexterous and graceful artiodactyls are close relatives of mountain goats, and their musk oxen and containers are also among their relatives. All of them belong to the family of bovids, and the biologists themselves have seven different species.
It is interesting that the term "mountain sheep" applies both to all 7 species of these animals, and to designate one of them - argali. How do they differ from the usual domesticated sheep and rams? To begin with, of course, the length of the limbs. Against the background of squat short-legged domestic sheep, mountain rams look slender and light-legged, however, if you compare them with your closest brothers - mountain goats, then rams definitely lose to them in the length of their legs. In addition, unlike domestic ones, mountain sheep have significant size superiority. The smallest representative of these animals is the mouflon. At the withers he reaches only sixty-five centimeters. And the largest - argali - mountain sheep, reaching a height of 120 centimeters and weight up to two hundred kilograms. Another difference from brothers -
mountain goats and domestic sheep: wild sheep do not have a beard or a tail-tail.
But the greatest wealth of this animal is its horns. A mountain ram with swirling horns is a symbol of fire and the sun. It is this animal that personifies the zodiac sign Aries. And his horns are really outstanding. All seven species of mountain sheep have massive horns that twist into a spiral. Moreover, the hair on the body of these animals is completely nondescript - from grayish to brown. This is a natural mimicry. With this color, it is easy to hide from
predatory animals, merging with the mountain landscape. The color of both males and females is the same, and they can only be distinguished by size: mountain sheep are often smaller and lighter than males.
Mountain sheep are found, as is already clear from their name, in the highlands, and exclusively in the northern hemisphere. The main habitats are Altai, Tien Shan, Tibet and the Caucasus, where these species of animals are represented in all their diversity. But in the European part of the continent you can only find mouflons - they are found in the Crimea, the Alps, the mountains of Spain and Turkey. Only one of the species is found in Africa - the maned ram, which can be found in the Atlas Mountains in the territory of Tunisia or Morocco.
Well and most importantly, the difference between mountain sheep - their quick wits. Unlike sheep, whose stupidity is associated with sayings and legends, their mountain brethren are cautious animals and have a very quick reaction. They are not inclined to assist the members of their herd, but at the same time they always monitor their behavior, so that in case of danger they immediately leave the meeting with the enemy in the most incomprehensible way. And mountain sheep really succeeded in this - they are natural climbers and can jump over rocks up to five meters long, and in height - to conquer the two-meter mark. Only their relatives, mountain goats, can outstrip them in climbing.