Urial

Urial, medium-sized wild sheep, member of the goat antelope subfamily, also known as shapo or arkhar. Native to the mountainous regions of northwestern India, Russia, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus, the urial avoids rocky cliff country and frequents grassy slopes, usually below the timberline. Rams (males) stand up to 91 cm (36 in) at the shoulder and weigh 54 kg (120 lb). Their color is reddish brown, with considerable variation in shade. Rams have a ruff of long hair extending down the throat to the chest. The ruff is black in adults but turns gray with age. Rams have rather long, slender horns that rise from the top of the head and form a wide, outward curl in which the tips turn in and end well behind the head. The record length of a horn is 99 cm (39 in). Ewes (females) have short, compressed horns.

During the summer, the rams live in small herds, separated from the ewes and lambs until the mating season begins in September and October. At that time, the herds of rams break up and each ram selects a following of four or five ewes. After a gestational period of approximately 150 to 160 days, a ewe will give birth to one or two young.

Scientific classification: The urial is a member of the subfamily Caprinae, family Bovidae. It is classified as Ovis vignei.