Urial
| Urial | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bukhara Urial (Ovis gmelini bochariensis) at Nordens Ark, Sweden | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Tribe: | Caprini |
| Genus: | Ovis |
| Species: | O. vignei
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ovis vignei | |
The urial (Ovis vignei) is a wild sheep native to the Middle East. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.[1]
Physical characteristics
Urial males have large horns, curling outwards from the top of the head turning in to end somewhere behind the head; females have shorter, compressed horns. The horns of the males may be up to 100 cm (39 in) long. The shoulder height of an adult male urial is between 80 and 90 cm (31 and 35 in).
Distribution
The urial is found in western central Asia from northeastern Iran and western Kazakhstan to Pakistan's Balochistan and Chitral, and in Ladakh, India. To the east it is replaced by the bigger argali and to the southwest by the Asiatic mouflon. Its habitat consists of grassy slopes below the timberline. Urials rarely move to the rocky areas of the mountains. For example, in northern Iran they produce hybrids with Asiatic mouflon under natural conditions. Urials feed mainly on grass but are able to eat leaves of trees and bushes if needed.
The conservation status of the urial is threatened as their habitat is perfectly suitable for human development; however the urial population has been recovering in recent years.
The Afghan urial is found in Musakhel district in Surghar and Torghar. A 2005-2006 survey by WWF Pakistan found 145 urials in Surghar, Srakhowa District Musakhe. Yahay Musakhel et al. 2006)
Behaviour
The mating season begins in September. Rams (which live separately at other times) select four or five ewes, which will each give birth to a lamb after a gestation of five months.
They are preyed on by the Himalayan wolf. [3]
Taxonomy
- Ovis vignei was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1841 for wild sheep in the Sulaiman Mountains.[2]
References
- ^ a b Michel, S. & Ghoddousi, A. (2020). "Ovis vignei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T54940655A54940728. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Blyth, E. (1841). "An Amended List of the Species of the Genus Ovis". The Annals and Magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology. 7 (44): 248–261.
- ^ https://cdn.downtoearth.org.in/library/0.69048700_1565775720_dietary-spectrum-in-himalayan-wolves.pdf
- Nowak R. M.: Walker's Mammals of the World, Sixth Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, London, 1999.
- Namgail, T., van Wieren, S.E., Mishra, C. & Prins, H.H.T. (2010). Multi-spatial co-distribution of the endangered Ladakh urial and blue sheep in the arid Trans-Himalayan Mountains. Journal of Arid Environments, 74:1162-1169.
- Lingen, H.: Großes Lexikon der Tiere. Lingen Verlag, Köln.
- Prater, S. H.: The Book of Indian Animals, Oxford University Press, 1971.
- Menon, V.: A Field Guide to Indian Mammals, Dorling Kindersley, India, 2003
- CITES Instruktion für den grenztierärztlichen Dienst
- Proposal about subspecies of Urial
- Yahya M. Musakhel et al. 2006: Identification of Biodiversity Hot Spots in Musakhel District balochistan Pakistan.