One of the types of "animal-climbers", that is, living high in the mountains, are mountain sheep. These clever and graceful artiodactyls are close relatives of mountain goats, and their relatives include musk oxen and tare. All of them belong to the family of Polaroid, and the sheep themselves, biologists have seven different species.
It is interesting that the term "mountain sheep" applies to all 7 species of these animals, and to designate one of them - argali. What are they different from the domesticated us sheep and sheep? To begin with, of course, the length of the limbs. Against the background of squat, short-legged domestic sheep, the mountain sheep look slim and light-legged, but if we compare them to the nearest brothers-mountain goats, then in the leg length the sheep are unequivocally lost to them. In addition, unlike domestic, mountain sheep have significant superiority in size. The smallest representative of these animals is the moufflon. At the withers he reaches only sixty-five centimeters. And the largest is the argali, a mountain ram, reaching a height of 120 centimeters and weighing up to two hundred kilograms. Another difference from brothers - mountain goats and domestic sheep: wild sheep do not have a beard or a kurdyuk suspension.
But the greatest wealth of this animal is its horns. A mountain ram with swirling horns is a symbol of fire and sun. It is this animal that represents the sign of the zodiac Aries. And his horns are really outstanding. All seven species of mountain sheep have massive horns that twist into a spiral. Moreover, the wool on the body of these animals is completely unimaginative - from grayish to brown. This is a natural mimicry. At such coloring it is easy to hide from predatory animals, having merged with a mountain landscape. Coloring both in males and females is the same, and it is possible to distinguish them only in size: mountain sheep are often smaller and lighter than males.
Mountain sheep are planted, as is already clear from their name, in the highlands, and exclusively in the northern hemisphere. Their main habitats are the Altai, Tien Shan, Tibet and the Caucasus, where these species of animals are represented in all their diversity. But in the European part of the continent you can find only mouflons - they are found in the Crimea, the Alps, the mountains of Spain and Turkey. In Africa, there is only one species - the maned ram, which can be found in the Atlas Mountains on the territory of Tunisia or Morocco.
Well, the main thing is how the mountain sheep are different - their intelligence. Unlike sheep, about the dullness of which proverbs and legends go, their mountain cousins are cautious animals and have a very fast reaction. They are not inclined to help the members of their flock, but they are always watching their behavior, so that in case of danger, they immediately leave the encounter with the enemy in the most incomprehensible way. And in this mountain sheep are very successful - they are natural climbers and can jump on rocks in length up to five meters, and in height - to conquer a two-meter mark. Outrun them in rock climbing can only relatives - mountain goats.