The Armenian mouflon (''Ovis orientalis gmelini'') is an endangered subspecies of

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, and the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domest ...

endemic to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked country, landlocked Enclave and exclave, exclave of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republi ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Taxonomy

The Armenian mouflon was first described in 1840 by

Edward Blyth Edward Blyth (23 December 1810 – 27 December 1873) was an English zoologist who worked for most of his life in India as a curator of zoology at the Asiatic Society, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta. He set about updating the museum ...

, who equated it with the "Orientalische Schaaf" (Oriental sheep) described by

Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin Samuel George Gottlieb Gmelin (4 July 1744 – 27 July 1774) was a German physician, botanist, and explorer. Background Gmelin was born at Tübingen as part of a well-known family of naturalists. His father was Johann Conrad Gmelin, an apotheca ...

in 1774. It is known as the Armenian mouflon in both , ''haykakan muflon'' and , ''Qutch-e armani''. Alternative names include Armenian wild sheep, Armenian red sheep, Transcaucasian mountain sheep, Transcaucasian sheep. and Anatolian mouflon.

Distribution and population

In Iran, Armenian mouflons are found in the northwestern part of the country. Individuals were transferred to Kabudan Island in

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...

in 1895 and 1906 by one of the governors of

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...

. A study carried out in the 1970s at the island found that their number declined from around 3,500 in 1970 to 1,000 in 1973. In 2004 1,658 Armenian wild sheep were counted at the Angouran Protected Area in Iran's

Zanjan Province Zanjan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Zanjan. It is a mountainous province with close to 22,000 km2 of land placed in Iran's Region 3. Two-thirds of the people of the province live in the cit ...

. In Armenia, ''O. o. gmelini'' is found in

Syunik Province Syunik (, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital and larg ...

(and to a lesser extent, in the provinces of Ararat and

Vayots Dzor Vayots Dzor (, ) is a province (''marz'') of Armenia. It lies at the southeastern end of the country, bordering the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan to the west and the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan to the east. It covers an area of . With a p ...

). According to a 2009 study there were "hardly over 200" mouflons in Armenia. In Azerbaijan, an estimated 250 to 300 mouflons are found in the

Habitat

The Armenian mouflon lives mostly in open rough terrain at medium or high altitudes, where they inhabit rocky hill country, lowland and highland steppes, rocky semideserts and, grass-covered slopes in the southern Caucasus region. They spend the summer at the highest elevations, right below the permanent snow. In winter, they move lower and may come into the valleys. They live in small or large herds (up to several dozen sheep). In the summer, the older males live singly or in separate groups. They may live up to 18 years. These sheep have been introduced to Texas, USA, where they are used for the activity of hunting.

Protection measures

''O. o. gmelini'' was listed in Category I of the USSR Red Data Book. In Armenia, hunting it has been forbidden since 1936. A captive-breeding program has been initiated at the Zoological Institute of Armenia aiming to expand Khosrov Nature Reserve, reorganize the Orbubad Sanctuary into a state reserve, control livestock, and reduce

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

. As of 2011, the fine for hunting the Armenian mouflon in Armenia was 3 million drams (roughly $8,000). In Iran, hunting of ''O. o. gmelini'' is allowed only under permit, outside the protected areas, between September and February. Within the protected areas, grazing of domestic livestock is strictly controlled.

Taxonomy

Distribution and population

Habitat

Protection measures

References

Further reading