Ovis punjabiensis subsp. punjabiensis Lydekker 1913
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Bovidae
Ovis
Ovis punjabiensis

description: 192.
Punjab Urial
Ovis punjabiensis
French: Mouflon du Punjab / German: Punjab-Wildschaf / Spanish: Urial del Punyab
Taxonomy. Ovis vignei punjabiensis Lydekker, 1913,
Pakistan.
Urial taxonomy is controversial; formerly urial species: Ladakh (O. vigne:), Punjab, Bukhara (O. bochariensis), and Afghan (O. cycloceros) recognized here, were usually classified as subspecies of O. orientalis, or all as subspecies of O. vignei. (The name orientalis is based on a hybrid population in north-central Iran and is not usable.) Monotypic.
Distribution. Punjab Region in Pakistan, restricted to the Kala Chita and Salt ranges between the Jhelum and Indusrivers.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 109-116 cm (males), tail 10.9-11. 9 cm (males), shoulder height 78-92 cm (males), hindfoot 33-34 cm (males); weight 40-45 kg (males) and c. 25 kg (females). Horns of males are sickle-shaped. Males have a white bib, black neck ruff, and usually a white saddle patch, but the patch can be bicolored or absent. Males lose their ruffs during the spring molt. General body color of males and females is reddish-gray.
Habitat. Prevailing habitat of the Punjab Urial consists of stony, rounded hills in dry, subtropical semi-evergreen scrub forest at 250-1000 m above sea level. The hills are interspersed with gullies and ravines. In the Kalabagh Game Reserve in the Salt Range, yearly rainfall is 452 mm and 60% of precipitation occurs during summer. Although Punjab Urials usually avoid tall vegetation, they do enter tall vegetation habitats for thermal and security cover and for foraging. However, they are more often found in rugged topography with low vegetation cover. Areas with tall dense vegetation are the least utilized. They share habitats with domestic sheep, goats, and cattle. Predators include feral dogs, Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and Golden Jackals (Canis aureus). The latter two predators could prey on lambs. Gray Wolves (C. lupus), Caracals (Caracal caracal), and Leopards (Panthera pardus), formerly the predators, were extirpated.
Food and Feeding. Punjab Urials, and all other urials, are primarily grazers, feeding on grasses and sedges, but they can switch to browse during the autumn and winter when grasses have lost their nutritional value. They feed on 44 plant species, and their annual diet consisted of 67% grasses, 18% forbs, and 16% browse (shrubs and trees) in a protected area devoid of livestock. Diet overlap with domestic sheep and goats may be significant.
Breeding. Urials are serially polygynous. Larger, dominant rams actively seek ewes in estrus. A male mates with one estrous ewe at a time; the rams do not form harems. Females first mate at 1-5 years and give birth at age two. Mating occurs in October— November, the gestation period is 150-160 days, and parturition occurs in early April. Females separate from the herd one or two days before giving birth. Within a week after birth, lambs are able to follow their mothers even in rough terrain. In a study of a population in a protected area, 15% of pregnant ewes had twins; lamb and yearling survival averaged 55% and 88%, respectively. Survival of 2-3year-olds was 47%, a low percentage for ungulates, but was possibly influenced by emigration. Survival was adequate to allow for population growth. Punjab Urial males reach sexual maturity by age two but probably are not sexually active until their fourth year.
Activity patterns. Punjab Urials are principally diurnal. At temperatures of 27-29°C, they avoid open areas. Animals begin feeding at sunlight, between 04:30 h and 06:00 h during warm weather, but they retreated into shade by 07:30 h and did notfeed again until 17:00 h and later. During the warm season, they probably forage at night. During cooler weather, they feed until 09:00-10:00 h, then retreat to shaded plant cover until 16:00 to 16:30 h. During winter, they can remain in the open throughout the day, grazing and resting intermittently.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Within a 40km * protected area, Punjab Urials formed two to five aggregations of variable herd numbers, with few solitary individuals. They occasionally formed herds of 30-40 individuals, but most female herds consisted of four to six members. Most males segregate into ram herds during the birthing period, but yearling rams usually remain with ewe groups. Ram herds usually consist of rams of equal age or social status. Punjab Urials avoid domestic animals. In interactions observed between Punjab Urials and domestic sheep and goats, urials moved away in 78% of encounters, and there was a flight reaction in the livestock in only 7% of the interactions.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II (under O. vigner). Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List (as O. orientalis punjabiensis). There are an estimated 1000-1100 Punjab Urials in the entire range of the species. The Punjab Urial population has probably undergone a 50% decline in the last 25 years. There are approximately 500 Punjab Urials in the Kalabagh Game Reserve, which is 3899 km * on the western end of the Salt Range. Livestock grazing is prohibited within a 20km? core area, and livestock outside the core area are few. There are approximately 360 Punjab Urials outside the reserve. One of the greatest threats is the overutilization of rangelands by domestic livestock, principally domestic sheep, goats, and cattle, which number in the thousands each in the Salt Range. Domestic ungulate ectoparasites and diseases can readily be transferred to urials. Lungworms (Cystocaulus) are a common parasite, as are roundworms such as Trichuris and Trichocephalus, The Punjab Urials can also be infected with coccidia (Eimeria). The diet overlap between urials and domestic sheep can be significant and can result in competition. Overexploited rangelands can also negatively affect ram horn growth. In the Punjab, 74% of the 23 plant genera consumed by Punjab Urials and domestic sheep were eaten by both. Domestic sheep are potential forage competitors. Diets of domestic sheep are also dominated by grasses, consisting of 72% grasses, 13% forbs, and 14% browse on an annual basis. Although domestic goats are primarily browsers, they are also potential competitors, because Punjab Urials increase their intake of browse during the critical winter period. Direct human threats include illegal sport, subsistence, and commercial hunting and removal of wood for fuel and grass for fodder. In an unprotected area in the eastern portion of the Punjab, near human habitation and with lax anti-poaching enforcement, poachers removed about a quarter of the lamb crop for sale in the pet trade and shot all rams older than six years of age. In the Kalabagh Game Reserve, which has a low population density of Punjab Urials, but where wildlife laws are strictly enforced, fewer than 5% of the lambs were removed and about 34% of adult rams were six years of age or older. Illegal trafficking in pet lambsis the principal short-term threat to the Punjab Urial. Livestock management systems that are based on a sustainable use of rangeland forage and the conservation of wildlife are critically needed. Viable populations of Punjab Urial occur only in protected areas.
Bibliography. Awan, Ahmad & Festa-Bianchet (2004), Awan, Festa-Bianchet & Ahmad (2006), Awan, Festa-Bianchet & Frisina (2006), Awan, Festa-Bianchet & Gaillard (2008), Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1966), Frisina (2007), Groves & Grubb (2011), Grubb (2005), Hess et al. (1997), Lydekker & Dollman (1924), Roberts (1997), Schaller (1977), Schaller & Mirza (1974), Valdez (2008), Valdez & DeForge (1985).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Bovidae, pp. 444-779 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 685, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6512484