The Portland daily press., 1890-07-11
THE PRESS.
FRIDAY MORNING, JULY IL.
About the Moufflon.

I ~
h The keepers in the Central narl, me-
nagerie are all men Of considerable intel.
igence, and many of them hold valuable
and entertaining theories regarding the
animals under their charge. 1t is not
easy for an outsider todearn what these,
theories are, but they come out gradual
ly on better acquaintance. They are
usually the result Of long experience
worked upon by bold imagination.
Keeper Holmes. Who has looked after
deer and camels for about twenty-six
years, propounds someof the most val
liable of these theories.
There are in the deer house male and
a female Sandman mouffion. By the
way, the keepers do not speak of male
or female animal, but of lady or a
! gentleman animal. For instance. thew
say THAT'S lady hippopotamus," or
"That's a gentleman hippopotamus."
H One Friday the lady mouf1on present
{ ed her gentleman with new small
moufion of the male sex.
b The baby moufflon was seen by the
writer soon after his appearance in this
n world. He is well cared for by his mother.
81 He is very small and very plump. His
4 mother is an extremely affectionate ami
e NAL, and puts warm, damp nose against
the hand of anybody who puts it within
her cage.
e The mouffion is the subject of one of
Il Keeper Holmes theories. The animal is
kvariously called the Sandman or the
"Corsican mouf1on, or the mufie, and
cniarfiGoa11xy fha avis ,,,,,es,,oo- ri
sheep, and one of the many varieties of
wild sheep.
HOW THE ANIMAL APPEARS.
The specimens in Central park stand q
little more than two feet high and ara
very gracefully formed. They have not
the goatlike tuft under the chin pos
sessed by some wild sheep.
The mouffion is found in the noun
tains of Sardinia, Corsica, Southern
Spain, European Turkey and in various
Mediterranean islands. It closely resem-
bles the Rocky mountain wild sheep, but
is prettier.
The moufflon has wool and hair like
any other sheep. The wool comes next
to the skin ard the hair outside thewool.
As everybody should know the great
difference between wild and domesti-
Gated sheep is that the former have more
hair and less wool, and thu latter less
hair and more wool. The wool is devel-
oped and the hair decreases after domes-
tication.
The moufions wool is of a yellowish
white and his hair of light chestnut
color. 1t is gray on the muzzle, the alb
domen and the inner side of the thighs.
and white on the under side of the tail.
The hair grows thinner in summer.
The mouffion has very bumpy fore
head just over the eyes. Its head is
long and intelligent looking. Its muzzle
is compressed.
The gentleman moufdon has immense,
hollow horns. They are triangular,
They bend backward in a semicircle,
and take another small twist before they
come to points. The bases of the horns
occupy almost the entire forehead above
the bumpy part mentioned.
There is something very interesting
connected with these horns. The moufion
is one of the most difficult animals to
shoot or 'atch. He is very timid. very
swift, and can take refuge in places in
accessible to man. His horns serve him
for defense very seldom, however, and
principally as means of escape.
TRUSTS TO HIS HORNS.
The mouff1on can see the wind or the
scent of man coming-in what way
will be explained later. 1t is his custom
to stand ON the edge of precipice and
watch the approaching wind or foe.
When he thinks it time to get out of the
way he takes dive, apparently to his
inevitable destruction. As matter of
fact, he alights on his immense horns.
which causes him to bounce off the ground |
few feet into the air. Then he alights |
comfortably on his feet
One veracious sportsman relates that
he had got within easy shooting distance
Of a moufion when the animal took his
customary dive. Great was the sports
mans surprise when, after few min
utes, he saw the mouffion reappear on
the spot whence he had dived.
In his fear the moufflon had taken such
a. hard dive that he bounded back to ex-
actly the place which he had left. Then
the sportsman shot him easily, of course.
The moutflon has q remarkably fine and
large blue eye. tits with this that Keeper
Holmes theory is connected.
The eyes are situated at the side of the
head, and, not unnaturally, are very
wide apart. The animal can look in
front, to the side and behind without
moving his head. OF this there is no
possible doubt whatever.
Keeper Holmes says that the moufion
can see the wind, which has red color
to him and varies in redness according
to its velocity. Thefact that he is afraid
of anything red goes to prove this. All
animals, says Mr.. Holmes, which can see
the wind are timid, and SO should we be
if we could do SO. Can it be that this
theory would account for the mental
distress of gentlemen who see things
which others cannot? The mouffion, ac-
cording to Mr. Holmes, can see other
sights and smell other smells Of which
we are entirely unconscious.
1t should be said that he is borne out |
more or less in his theory by scientists. |
Sir John Lubbock has recently found |
out that his ants are conscious of several |
colors unknown to men. The same thing
is true of many other animals in regard |
to SMELLS