BLUE SHEEP

Pseudois nayaur

(Dwarf Blue Sheep) Pseudois schaeferi

Physical Description

The Blue Sheep, or Bharal, is endemic to the Tibetan Plateau. According to noted biologist George Schaller, Blue sheep are best described as “goats with sheeplike traits.” The Blue Sheep has a short, lustrous, brownish grey to greyish blue coat that provides excellent camouflage for the animal among the blue shale, rocks, and brown grasses of Tibet’s open hillsides. The tip of the Sheep’s muzzle, the belly, the inside and backs of the legs, and the rump patch are white. There is also a white spot on the knees and above the hooves.

The front of the neck, the chest, and the fronts of the legs are dark grey in females and black in males. A grey or black stripe divides the darker upper parts of the Blue Sheep’s body from the lighter under parts. The male’s neck is swollen during the rut.

Both male and female Blue sheep have ridged horns. The horns of males are relatively short but massive, curving up and out from the top of the animal’s head, then backwards, and curling at the tip. The horns of males measure about 24 centimetres (9.4 inches) in circumference, in males of at least six years of age, and may grow to be as long as 84 cm (33 inches).

The horn tips of males are sometimes splintered, but are rarely broken. The horns of females are shorter, measuring between 10 to 20 centimetres (3.9 to 7.9 inches) long, and do not curve as much as the horns of males.

The Blue Sheep has short, pointed ears and large eyes. The Sheep’s stocky body and stout legs make it an excellent climber. Adult males stand about 80 to 91 centimetres (2.6 to 3 feet) at the shoulder and typically weigh from 60 to 75 kilograms (132 to 165 pounds). Females weigh from 35 to 45 kilograms (77 to 99 pounds).

The Dwarf Blue Sheep is smaller than the common Blue Sheep. Dwarf Blue sheep males weigh about 28 to 39 kilograms (62 to 86 pounds) and females weigh about 25 to 35 kilograms (55 to 77 pounds). The Dwarf Blue Sheep also has thinner horns than the common Blue Sheep, with less of an inward curve and tips that turn up more.

 

Habitat

The Blue Sheep inhabits treeless slopes and alpine meadows and shrub zones above the timberline. The Sheep prefers relatively gentle hillsides covered with grasses and sedges, but usually remains within 200 metres (650 feet) of cliffs up which it can climb to escape from predators.

Highly tolerant of environmental extremes, the Blue Sheep may be found in regions ranging from hot and dry to cold, windy, and snowy, and elevations from below 1,200 metres (3,900 feet) to as high as 5,300 metres (17,400 feet). The Sheep is distributed across the Tibetan Plateau and on associated and neighboring mountain ranges. The Blue Sheep’s habitat range includes Tibet, regions of Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan that border Tibet, and portions of China’s Xinjiang, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Ningxia provinces.

The Dwarf Blue Sheep inhabits the steep, arid, lower slopes of the Yangtze River valley, at elevations from 2,600 to 3,200 metres (8,500 to 10,500 feet). The Dwarf Blue Sheep occurs in and to the north, south, and west of Bathang (Batang) county in Kham (Sichuan province). The common Blue Sheep also lives in this region, but remains in alpine meadows at higher altitudes than the Dwarf Blue Sheep; approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) of forest zone separate the two species.

 

Eating Habits

The Blue Sheep eats grasses, herbs, lichens, and mosses.

 

Behaviour and Reproduction

The Blue Sheep is most active in the early morning, in the late afternoon, and briefly around midday. The Sheep typically lives in herds. Herds may consist of all males, all females, females with young and yearlings, or females and males both adult and young. Herds range in size from as few as two Blue sheep (most often a female and her offspring) to as many as 400. Most herds, however, contain about 30 animals. During the summer, males separate from females in some areas of the Sheep’s habitat range.

The Blue Sheep reaches sexual maturity between one and two years of age, but most males are not able to secure a mate until they are seven years old. The mating and birth seasons of the Sheep vary across the animal’s habitat range. In general, the Blue Sheep mates during the winter and gives birth in the summer. Reproductive success depends upon weather conditions and level of nutrition. The Blue Sheep’s gestation period is 160 days. Each pregnant female gives birth to one offspring. Offspring are weaned at about six months of age.

The Blue Sheep’s life span is 11 to 15 years. The Sheep’s natural predators include snow leopards, wolves, and common leopards. The Blue Sheep is the Snow Leopard’s principal prey on the Tibetan Plateau. Blue sheep freeze when a potential predator is in their vicinity. Their excellent camouflage often results in them being overlooked as part of the landscape. Blue sheep flee if a predator does manage to spot them.

 

Present Status

The Blue Sheep is categorized as Least Concern in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Blue Sheep is under second class protection in China and is included in Schedule III of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972. The total population size of the Blue Sheep is estimated at between 47,000 and 414,000. The Dwarf Blue Sheep is categorized as Endangered in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is protected under the laws of Sichuan province. In 1997, there were estimated to be 200 Dwarf Blue sheep remaining.

 

Threats to Survival

The Blue Sheep and Dwarf Blue Sheep have been heavily hunted, mostly on a subsistence basis.

 

References

Caprinae Specialist Group, 1996: Pseudois schaeferi. In: IUCN, 2003: 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, http://www.redlist.org,

Aug 2004.

Harris, R.B., 2003: Pseudois nayaur. In: IUCN, 2003: 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, http://www.redlist.org, Oct 2004.

Huffman, Brent, March 2004: Bharal, Himalayan Blue Sheep, http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Pseudois_nayaur.html, Oct 2004.

Massicot, Paul, July 2004: Animal Info – Dwarf Blue Sheep, http://www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/pseuscha.htm, Oct 2004.

Schaller, George, B. 1998: Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe, The University of Chicago Press, London, 94pp

By: Environment and Development Desk, DIIR, CTA.