In Cyprus, Asia Minor, and Persia the mouflon is replaced by the red
sheep (_Ovis orientalis_), a redder and, in the case of some races,
larger species, often with a fringe of blackish hair on the throat
of the old males, and the horns in that sex always curving backwards
behind the neck. The race of this species inhabiting the Troödos
mountains of Cyprus is smaller than the rest.
Farther east, namely, in the Kopet Dagh range dividing Persia from
Turkestan, the red sheep gives place to the well-known urial (_O.
vignei_), in which there is a long white throat-fringe to the old rams,
whose horns curve forwards by the sides of the face. This species
ranges through Baluchistan and Afghanistan to the Salt Range of the
Punjab, and thence along the ranges flanking the Indus into Ladak and
Tibet.
In the Altai and Tibet, together with other parts of central Asia, we
reach the country of the great argali sheep (_O. ammon_), with its
numerous races; while in the Yana Valley of Siberia and in Kamchatka
we first meet with the so-called bighorns (_O. canadensis_), of which
the typical race is North American. One peculiar species (_Ammotragus
lervia_) inhabits the north of Africa, but in the rest of that
continent, as also in peninsular India, the Malay countries, and South
America, wild sheep are unknown.
THE RED DEER
(_Cervus elaphus_)
The red deer, the typical representative of the family _Cervidæ_, is
the largest and handsomest European member of that group, although it
attains its maximum development in point of bodily size and massiveness
of antlers only in eastern Europe and south-western Asia. As in most
members of the deer tribe inhabiting temperate countries, there is
considerable seasonal difference in the colour of the coat, and the
fawns differ remarkably in this respect from their parents. There are
also distinctions in colour between the various local races of the
species. The ordinary name refers to the fact that in summer a more or
less distinct rufous colour prevails on the upper-parts. Here it may be
remarked that deer do not in most cases present that marked contrast
between the upper and the lower surfaces of the body so characteristic
of gazelles and many other members of the antelope group. And the
reason for this is not difficult to explain. As mentioned in the text
accompanying the plate of that species, the white under-parts of the
gazelle are for the purpose of counteracting the dark shadow thrown by
the body when standing in full sunlight, and thus to render the animal
inconspicuous. Deer, on the other hand, are in the main nocturnal and
forest-dwelling creatures, and this type of protective colouring would
therefore be useless in their case. The chital, or Indian spotted deer,
is, however, much less nocturnal than most species, and also feeds to
a great extent in the open; and it is interesting to notice that, in
accordance with such habits, this species is white-bellied.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account