Ovis poli. It happened, however, that as far back as about the year 1840 the
Russian explorer Karelin obtained some large wild sheep from the Alatau,
near Semirechinsk and due north of Lake Issik Kul, which in 1873 were
named in his honour O. karelini by his countryman Severtzoff. In 1875 Sir
Victor and Mr. B. Brooke referred the specimens brought home by the
Yarkand Expedition from the Thian Shan to O. karelini; and four years
later this species was accepted by Mr. Blanford, in his account of the
mammals of the expedition, as a valid one. Later on, however, the same
writer, from the study of additional specimens, came to the conclusion that
O. karelini was, at most, merely a variety of O. p o li; and this view was
subsequently adopted by Mr. W. L. Sclater, who wrote as follows : “ The
above, I think, is sufficient to justify the combination of the Pamir typical
form and the Thian Shan specimens brought back by the Yarkand Expedition,
under the name of Ovis poli, even i f the sheep described by Severtzoff
as O. karelini should turn out to really differ from the typical O. poli of
the Pamir.”
Habits.—Since the habits are fully described under the heading of the
two races, it will suffice to state here that the typical Ovis poli is but rarely^
found at elevations below 10,000 and 11,000 feet above the sea, and sometimes
at much higher levels ; the Thian Shan race is, however, stated by
Severtzoff to descend as low as 2000 or 30og|!feet. It is essentially an
inhabitant of open, hilly, grass-clad plains; and only takes to the mountains
for the purpose of concealment, avoiding even then the more rocky and
precipitous localities.
a. P a m ir R a ce—Ovis poli t y p ic a
CharactersS-'aizz. large ; horns of adult males of great length, with
both the front angles usually well developed at the base, and the spiral,
which may be either comparatively close or extremely open, forming
much more than a single complete circle. Frequently, although by no
means invariably, the wrinkles on the outer lateral surface of the base of
the horns are but slightly developed.
In the summer pelage the face of the male is pure white, and there is
much vyhite on the under-parts and flanks ; winter pelage of same practically
indistinguishable from that ojgthe Thian Shan race. Females in
summer uniformly dark blackish-brown above, without a distinct median
dorsal stripe, and still more white on the flanks and thighs.
Of this race the British Museum has a mounted male and female in
the summer dress; while the winter garb is well shown in Severtzoff’s
plate in the Trans. Soc. Moscou for 1873.
The following are some of the largest horn-measurements given by
Mr. Rowland Ward ; the fifth in the list being an additional specimen,
now in the collection of Sir E. G. Loder :—
Length along Basal Tip to Tip.
Front Curve. Circumference.
75 l 6 5 4i
73 15 48
( > 1 1 ' ' S i 5 3i
69^ M i 56
2 c