A preliminary compendium of photos of Ovis vignei vignei, the form of wild sheep occurring in Ladakh

From the Mediterranean Basin through Asia to western North America, wild sheeps occur (yes, I did write 'sheeps').

Please see Fig. 1 in https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hamid-Rezaei/publication/38074290_Evolution_and_taxonomy_of_the_wild_species_of_the_genus_Ovis_Mammalia_Artiodactyla_Bovidae/links/5a5d88ee458515c03ede8d93/Evolution-and-taxonomy-of-the-wild-species-of-the-genus-Ovis-Mammalia-Artiodactyla-Bovidae.pdf.

The American spp. are well-known and extensively photographed (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42391-Ovis-canadensis and https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42390-Ovis-dalli).

However, the Eurasian spp. are peculiarly hard for the naturalist to get to grips with.

This is because

most surviving populations occur in remote areas, so that few photographs are available,
differentiation of subspecies complicates the distinctions among the spp., and
the identity of the European form (Ovis musimon, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=340942) has been blurred by selective breeding.

The only fully wild form of sheep that has been rather frequently photographed is Ovis vignei vignei, a subspecies restricted to Ladakh (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladakh). This is true despite this ruminant not being as photogenic as its American congeners

The reason for the relative intensity of photographic attention in Ladakh is tourism to view Panthera uncia (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74831-Panthera-uncia).

Naturalists visit this remote, steep, and largely barren area for a chance to glimpse the snow leopard. However, they spend long hours waiting. In the meantime, they take photos of the carnivore's potential prey - including O. v. vignei (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=32209&taxon_id=1067775).

Ovis v. vignei gives us the best glimpse of what the ancestors of the domestic sheep (Ovis aries, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep) looked like, before the human species began to modify the genus by selective breeding and hybridisation.

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-ovis-orientalis-vignei-herd-of-males-hemis-shugpachan-at-altitude-of-3500m-ladakh-india-vulnerable-species-image262973403.html?imageid=A2035397-C2AC-4F48-90B4-A94C9DA3E51A&p=215445&pn=1&searchId=d17a1b83515870759a972297d1857656&searchtype=0

http://www.wilddocu.de/ladakh-urial-ovis-vignei-vignei/

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-or-ovis-vignei-vignei-in-ladakh-himalaya-india-during-winter-near-leh-image351243967.html?imageid=0CAF975A-58D9-44E7-B185-99A3E8F7395F&p=252634&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-ovis-orientalis-vignei-mixed-herd-on-steep-slope-hemis-shugpachan-at-altitude-of-3500m-ladakh-india-vulnerable-species-image262973401.html?imageid=1EF10F08-0CD0-40B8-9879-0AEAF8225AC3&p=215445&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urials-ovis-orientalis-vignei-males-hemis-shugpachan-at-altitude-of-3500m-ladakh-india-vulnerable-species-image262973399.html?imageid=3EEA273B-5545-48AF-B0CB-05C552825C85&p=215445&pn=1&searchId=d17a1b83515870759a972297d1857656&searchtype=0

https://roundglasssustain.com/species/urial

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hamid-Rezaei/publication/38074290_Evolution_and_taxonomy_of_the_wild_species_of_the_genus_Ovis_Mammalia_Artiodactyla_Bovidae/links/5a5d88ee458515c03ede8d93/Evolution-and-taxonomy-of-the-wild-species-of-the-genus-Ovis-Mammalia-Artiodactyla-Bovidae.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56we-27kG5Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrd7GGi9lyE

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/viral-videos/viral-rare-video-shows-snow-leopard-hunt-down-ladakh-urial-after-chasing-it-through-steep-mountain-slopes/videoshow/98721450.cms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7c-tm6dHqA

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-ovis-orientalis-vignei-males-with-magpies-hemis-shugpachan-at-altitude-of-3500m-ladakh-india-vulnerable-species-image262973398.html?imageid=92150C59-B792-4535-A600-E4C0F8A5F648&p=215445&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-ladakh-urial-ovis-vignei-vignei-herd-140748495.html?imageid=C2F6518C-77BA-45CA-91BD-1DC6FA9A22A9&p=144413&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/urial-male-looking-at-camera-at-hemis-national-park-image476425650.html?imageid=4EA6E799-BD16-4CDF-9978-0055367A9A6E&p=466127&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-or-ovis-vignei-vignei-in-ladakh-himalaya-india-during-winter-near-leh-image351244025.html?imageid=F9EA4E83-6913-4D0C-A00A-32639D242366&p=252634&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-or-ovis-vignei-vignei-in-ladakh-himalaya-india-during-winter-near-leh-image351244065.html?imageid=D017737F-8DE1-4374-A205-436BFEEA81D4&p=252634&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-or-ovis-vignei-vignei-in-ladakh-himalaya-india-during-winter-near-leh-image351244023.html?imageid=C8D22757-45BE-4155-A951-825BFD0A2B76&p=252634&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-or-ovis-vignei-vignei-in-ladakh-himalaya-india-during-winter-near-leh-image351243965.html?imageid=BA7204FC-66EC-408F-BCA2-36588DC0F880&p=252634&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-or-ovis-vignei-vignei-in-ladakh-himalaya-india-during-winter-near-leh-image351244049.html?imageid=720485D2-675B-4F06-AD52-3EF34DCC0343&p=252634&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-or-ovis-vignei-vignei-in-ladakh-himalaya-india-during-winter-near-leh-image351243989.html?imageid=1F4BFF17-367E-433C-BEA0-0D87DDACB957&p=252634&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/ladakh-urial-or-shapo-or-ovis-orientalis-vignei-in-ulley-village-ladakh-image255696757.html?imageid=C9739BA9-7F2F-4F59-A549-8B71B3644C32&p=252634&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-ladakh-urial-ovis-vignei-vignei-herd-140748486.html?imageid=793A25C5-3754-4A02-AFE1-07C7ED7B4A4D&p=144413&pn=1&searchId=2b9182301ca441cc3a1da7abcef5b4a5&searchtype=0

No. 191 in Ovis punjabiensis subsp. punjabiensis Lydekker 1913 - Plazi TreatmentBank

Ladakh Urial (Subspecies Ovis vignei vignei) in March 2018 by Royle Safaris · iNaturalist

Ladakh Urial (Subspecies Ovis vignei vignei) in January 2019 by choldan_gasha · iNaturalist

Urial Ovis Vignei Known Arkars Herd foto stock 2182351569 | Shutterstock

Ladakh Urial (Ovis orientalis vignei) herd of males, Hemis Shugpachan, at altitude of 3500m, Ladakh, India. Vulnerable species Stock Photo - Alamy

Ladakh urial (Ovis vignei vignei) herd Stock Photo - Alamy

Urial (Ovis vignei) in February 2013 by janconl. This is a Ladakh Urial: ovis orientalis vignei (not possible to select) · iNaturalist

Urial (Ovis vignei) in February 2016 by pfaucher · iNaturalist

Urial (Ovis vignei) in May 2019 by Swati LOUVET · iNaturalist

Urial (Ovis vignei) in February 2011 by M. A. Naturalist. Photo by JK; spp. vignei?; location approximate, my notes say monastery near Uley, 50 km W of Leh... · iNaturalist

Ladakh Urial (Subspecies Ovis vignei vignei) in February 2018 by Fábio Olmos · iNaturalist

Urial (Ovis orientalis vignei), also known as the arkars or shapo, is a subspecies group of the wild sheep Ovis orientalis Stock Photo - Alamy

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Julkaistu heinäkuu 28, 2023 06:27 IP. käyttäjältä

milewski

Kommentit

Pedal flag? in Ovis vignei vignei:

Lähettänyt milewski 11 kuukautta sitten

@matthewinabinett @beartracker

CAPRA SIBIRICA

Please see unusually clear footage of the ischial (or ischiocaudal?) flag of Capra sibirica hagenbecki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_ibex), at 15.12 in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFqccD6_X_I.

In some views, the pattern on the posterior of this species seems unremarkable:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/85830928

When C. sibirica is viewed posteriolaterally in relaxed mode, it can be the dark on the dorsal (upper) surface of the tail that is most - but still only modestly - noticeable:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/167171059
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/48624243

However, as the animals distance themselves from the observer, the pale pelage on the ischia and haunches becomes more noticeable:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17567800
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17493033

When the tail is raised, the dark of the bare anal/perineal skin maintains dark/pale contrast at close range, at least in juveniles:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136902336
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38096335

In adolescent/adult males, the whitish pelage on the ventral (lower) surface of the tail is exposed. This seems to be flared laterally, and extends the ischial pale, to form an ischiocaudal flag:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136799996
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60494479

Also see 46.30 in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFqccD6_X_I

My interpretation:
Posterior flagging serves both social and anti-predator functions in C. sibirica. At distance, pale is more noticeable than dark, in this environment. The dark features (top of tail, and anus) are noticeable only at close range/while the animals are not fleeing. In flight at some distance, it is the pale that gleams, owing to a) the depigmentation of the ischial pelage, b) a previously undescribed sheen on the haunches and possibly inner surface of upper hindleg, and c) the exposure of the undersurface of the tail. I have yet to find out whether the latter is part of the display seen in the video footage of subspecies hagenbecki, linked above, which does not seem to show adult males. I.e. I have yet to elucidate the pale display of the ventral surface of the tail according to sex, age, and season.

Also see around 29.49 in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFqccD6_X_I.

Whitish pelage on the ischial surface has remained in some individuals of the soay sheep (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soay_sheep):

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-two-soay-sheep-their-offspring-2299687307

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