Urial Explained

The urial (; Ovis vignei), also known as arkars, shapo, or shapu, is a wild sheep native to Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Taxonomy

Ovis vignei was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1841 for wild sheep in the Sulaiman Mountains. The specific name honours Godfrey Vigne (1801–1863).^[1]

The vignei subspecies group consists of six individual subspecies:

• Ladakh urial (Ovis vignei vignei): India (Ladakh), northern Pakistan, Kashmir
• Transcaspian urial (Ovis vignei arkal): Ustjurt-Plateau (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, northern Iran) and western Kazakhstan
• Blanford's urial or Baluchistan urial (Ovis vignei blanfordi): Pakistan (Balochistan)
• Bukhara urial (Ovis vignei bochariensis): Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan
• Afghan urial or Turkmenian sheep (Ovis vignei cycloceros): southern Turkmenistan, eastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan (north Balochistan)^[2]
• Punjab urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis): provincial animal of Punjab, Pakistan^[3]

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 are up to 100sigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long. The shoulder height of an adult male urial is between 80and.

Distribution and habitat

The urial is native to montane areas in the Pamir Mountains, Hindu Kush and Himalayas up to an elevation of 4500m (14,800feet). It is distributed from northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and southwestern Kazakhstan to northern Pakistan and Ladakh in northwestern India. It prefers grassland, open woodland and gentle slopes, but also inhabits cold arid zones with little vegetation.

Behaviour and ecology

The mating season begins in September. Rams select four or five ewes, which give birth to a lamb after a gestation of five months.

References

• 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.

External links

• Images of asiatic wild sheep subspecies

Notes and References

1. Book: Beolens . Bo . The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals . Watkins . Michael . Grayson . Michael . November 18, 2009 . JHU Press . 9780801895333 . Google Books.
2. Web site: Green Pioneers - Chapter 13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080703204340/http://www.un.org.pk/undp/sgp/green-pioneers/chap-13.htm . 2008-07-03 . 2009-03-15.
3. Web site: Kobilinsky . Dana . 2023-07-26 . JWM: Connectivity could aid Pakistan's struggling wild sheep . 2023-07-31 . The Wildlife Society . en-US.