~MOUFLON SHEEP~
Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Carprinae
Genus: Ovis
Species: Ovis aries
EVOLUTION:
The mouflon is thought to be one of two original ancestors of all modern day sheep. It originated on the islands of Corsica, Sardina, and Cyprus, but has recently been introduced in much of Europe. Like most wild sheep
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
It has a red-brown color with a dark area along its back, and lighter colored side patches. Its underparts are white as well as the bottom half of their legs. It has a white muzzle and white circles around its eyes.The curved, spiral horns are usually around 25 inches in length and are arch back over its head. The mouflon's horns don't flare out at the end as most wild sheep's do. The size of a male mouflon's horns determine his status in the group.
A mouflon is about the size of a medium sheep with a weight range of 55-120 pounds. They are 4-5 feet long, and stand about 2-4 feet tall at the shoulders. They have a rough coat, and during the winter grow a woolly under coat that keeps them warm.
DIET:
The mouflon's diet is tough. Being a herbivore, it grazes on short grasses, heather, and shrubs. It has a multi-chambered stomach with special microbes that break down the cellulose of the plant cell walls. After it has eaten its fill, the mouflon will lie down somewhere, and regurgitate its food, chewing it a second time to soften it some more. It then swallows it again for the last time.
HABITAT:
the mouflon lives in mountainous terrain, usually above the tree line or in mountain meadows. In Corsica it lives on steep-sided rocky peaks, where it is protected from predators.
REPRODUCTION:
GESTATION PERIOD:
The ewes are pregnant 210 days and can give birth to either one, or twin lambs. The ewe will go into cover to have her lamb which is up on its feet within minutes after birth.
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