Description of the bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (bighorn sheep) is an artiodactyl ruminant that belongs to the bovid family. An adult male can weigh up to 150 kg. The bighorn sheep lives in the highlands of Siberia, Sakhalin and Kamchatka. The number of the species in 2017 is just over 100 thousand individuals around the globe. A detailed description will help you get a more accurate picture.
Description of the Bighorn Sheep
Appearance
The bighorn sheep, or bighorn sheep, has a large knocked down physique. Due to the fact that the habitat of animals is mostly high-mountain ranges, their structure is more similar to the exterior of mountain goats than to their closest relatives. The cervical region is shortened, the loin is long and wide. The changes also affected the distal parts of the legs: they also became shorter.
The body length of the male reaches 190 cm, height - 120, weight can reach 160 kg. Females are characterized by smaller dimensions. Their body weight rarely reaches 80 kg. The weight of individuals of both sexes will depend on where they live and also on the season. The largest representatives of the genus are the Kamchatka and Chukotka bighorn sheep.
In the warm season, the body of the Bighorn sheep is covered with short fur. In the fall, the process of changing the coat begins, but outwardly this is practically not manifested. Already in September, active growth of the spinous undercoat occurs. Fluffy hairs and guard roots are lighter in color, therefore, by the onset of cold weather, the shade of the coat changes due to breaking off the upper part of the guard hairs. In the summer, when there is enough pasture in the meadows, the weight of the lambs is significantly greater than in winter.
The bighorn sheep reaches sexual maturity by 2 years of age. The birth of young animals falls in the warm season. Lambs develop rapidly and adapt to grazing. Already at the age of 1 month, most of the livestock refuses milk and completely switches to adult feed. Fertility is low: the female brings mainly one lamb at a time.
Varieties
Today, the number of all represented individuals is slightly more than 100,000. There are several subspecies:
- Putorana Bighorn Sheep;
- Yakut Bighorn Sheep;
- Kodarsky;
- Kolymsky;
- Okhotsk bighorn sheep;
- Koryak bighorn sheep;
- Apple Bighorn Sheep.
The largest subspecies live in Yakutia. The Putorana Bighorn Sheep is included in the Red Book because it is on the verge of extinction. In Yakutia and Chukotka, illegal hunting for the Bighorn Sheep has also reduced the number of representatives of the species. In addition to uncontrolled hunting, human activities have a very large impact on reducing the number of individuals: road development, agricultural industry, exploration geological excavations - all this has jeopardized the subspecies living in the lowlands.
In connection with the downward trend in numbers, people began to carry out work aimed at their preservation.For this, some of the individuals are relocated to new habitats, and special protected reserves are created. Domestication work is also underway to accelerate recovery through hybridization.
Life cycle
Throughout their lives, animals rest and seek food for themselves. The active period begins in the early morning and ends in the late evening. At night, the bighorn sheep sleeps on a couch. When the time for white nights comes, some individuals occasionally graze even at night. In hot weather, animals rest several times a day.
The sequence and duration of feeding and resting depends on several factors:
- the presence or absence of bloodsuckers;
- weather;
- how much feed is available.
For rest, animals trample holes in the soil with their hooves. For the most part, recreation sites are located in areas that are well visible from all sides. For example, the top of the gorge, the saddle of the ridge. Food is mainly obtained in mountain gorges, near mountain streams. However, they are in no hurry to move away from the nearby hills and at the first danger they climb the hills.
The diet
The structure of the digestive tract of the Bighorn Sheep is the same as that of domesticated representatives. The intestine is 30 times the length of the body, so pets can eat a fairly large amount of food. The powerful chewing apparatus allows the lambs to eat not only juicy greens, but also thorns, as well as all kinds of spikelets, neatly separating with their teeth even branches close to the ground.
The diet of animals includes more than 320 species of all kinds of plants, as well as mushrooms and lichens. In summer, the menu consists of juicy greens, and with the onset of autumn, mushrooms and berries are added to the diet. In winter, the animal digs up the snow layer and eats the dried grass and thorns.
Breeding features
The Bighorn sheep population is endangered not only due to human activity. Late puberty and low fertility also played a role. Lambs reach sexual maturity by 2 years. At the same time, females can reproduce as early as 2 years, and males - only at 4. The racing period varies within a month, the maximum is one and a half.
During the mating season, fierce battles for females take place between males, as a result of which many individuals die, which also does not contribute to an increase in numbers. Lambs are born during the period when the first succulent greenery appears in the meadows. About 2 weeks before giving birth, the uterus leave the herd and look for a secluded place where they can safely give birth and hide their offspring from predators. The female usually brings one lamb, rarely two.
Young animals are distinguished by good adaptability and endurance. Within a few days after birth, babies are able to move around rocky terrain. The animal feeds its babies with milk for no more than a month. Already from 4 weeks, the diet of lambs is the same as that of adults.
Babies are born with a weight of 3-5 kg. On juicy feed, before the onset of cold weather, the body weight of young animals increases to 25 kg. In winter, the growth rate decreases.
Hairline renewal
Not all flocks moult at the same time. First of all, young animals begin to molt, then barren males and females. Molt falls mainly in the first half of May and ends in early July. In queens that have resolved from the burden, the molting period is delayed until August.
Any subspecies of bighorn sheep begins to shed from the sides and abdomen. The last to change is the hair on the limbs. By December, the process is completely completed and the color of the hairline changes.
Role in human life
Today, hunting bighorn sheep is prohibited. In connection with a sharp decrease in the species, a person was forced to start work on its preservation.The habitual habitat, due to human activity, became unsuitable for animals, so people began to create artificial reserves, in which small species are resettled.
Work is underway to preserve the species
The selection process is very difficult, because most of the queens abort after fertilization with the replaceable fluid of the Bighorn Sheep. Domesticated females are used for breeding, which is the inhibiting factor. In wild females, the gestation period is 140 days, and in domestic females, 170, this explains the birth of weak babies and frequent miscarriages.
Final part
The animal tends to prefer living on rocky slopes. Habitat - Kamchatka, Yakutia, Sakhalin, Siberia. The appearance of wild individuals is close in constitution to the appearance of mountain goats. This is due to the characteristics of the area in which the animals live. Their legs and cervical region are much shorter than those of domesticated relatives.
The weight of the male is about 150 kg, the female rarely reaches 80. Weight gain and exterior depend on habitats, the ability to get food and weather conditions. Sexual maturity occurs at 2 years old, and the females at this time are already ready for fertilization, and the males begin to reproduce only at the age of four. The birth of lambs falls on a warm period, when a sufficient amount of green food appears in the lowlands of the mountains.
Lamb spend practically all daylight hours on pastures. In the warm season, they can rest several times, because food is easy to get. In the cold season, they have to spend all daylight hours in order to get food for themselves. Sheep sleep in specially prepared beds, depressions, which are trampled by hooves. Basically, the beds are located on the tops of mountainous hills, where the entire surrounding area is clearly visible.
Today, many species are on the brink of extinction. This trend is triggered by several factors:
- poaching;
- human activities for the development and development of territories;
- late puberty;
- low productivity of females.