Mouflon
The Mouflon is a subspecies group of wild sheep and is thought to be one of the ancestors for all modern domestic sheep breeds.
Mouflon have red-brown, short-haired coats with dark back-stripes and light-coloured saddle patches. The males are horned and some females are horned while others are polled. The horns of mature rams are curved in almost one full revolution.
Today Mouflon inhabit the Caucasus, northern Iraq and north west Iran. The range originally stretched further to Anatolia, the Crimean peninsula and the Balkans where they had already disappeared 3,000 years ago.
Mouflon were introduced to the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Rhodes and Cyprus during the neolithic period, perhaps as feral domesticated animals, where they have naturalized in the mountainous interiors of these islands over the past few thousand years, giving rise to the subspecies known as European Mouflon.
Mouflon were later successfully introduced into continental Europe, including Spain, France, Germany, central Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, the Canary Islands, and even some northern European countries such as Sweden and Finland.
Mouflon are normally found in steep mountainous woods near tree lines. In winter, they migrate to lower altitudes.
Date: 5th September 2013
Location: road to La Lancha and Embalse del Jándula, Sierra de Andújar, Andalucia, Spain
Mouflon have red-brown, short-haired coats with dark back-stripes and light-coloured saddle patches. The males are horned and some females are horned while others are polled. The horns of mature rams are curved in almost one full revolution.
Today Mouflon inhabit the Caucasus, northern Iraq and north west Iran. The range originally stretched further to Anatolia, the Crimean peninsula and the Balkans where they had already disappeared 3,000 years ago.
Mouflon were introduced to the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Rhodes and Cyprus during the neolithic period, perhaps as feral domesticated animals, where they have naturalized in the mountainous interiors of these islands over the past few thousand years, giving rise to the subspecies known as European Mouflon.
Mouflon were later successfully introduced into continental Europe, including Spain, France, Germany, central Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, the Canary Islands, and even some northern European countries such as Sweden and Finland.
Mouflon are normally found in steep mountainous woods near tree lines. In winter, they migrate to lower altitudes.
Date: 5th September 2013
Location: road to La Lancha and Embalse del Jándula, Sierra de Andújar, Andalucia, Spain
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Also in: South Spain - September 2013
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