Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-10-23
ABOUT THE M0UFFL0N.
A FEW NOTES UPON A CURIOUS
GUEST OF KEEPER HOLMES.

wind-1t Appears Red 10 His Gentle
The keepers in the Central park me
nagerie are all men Of considerable intel |
ligence, and many of them hold valuable
and entertaining theories regarding the
animals under their charge. IL Is not
easy for an outsider to learn 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 some Of the most val
liable of these theories.
There are in the deer house male and
female Sandman moufflon. BY the
way, the keepers do not speak of male
or female animal, but Of lady or a
gentleman animal. For instance, they
say That's lady hippopotamus," or
That's gentleman hippopotamus."
One Friday the lady mouiflon present
ed her gentleman with new small
moufiion of the male sex.
The baby moufflon was seen by the
writer soon after his appearance in this
world. He is well cared for by his mother.
He Is very small and very plump. His
mother is an extremely affectionate ami
NAL, and puts a warm, dampnose against
the hand Of anybody who puts it within
her cage.
The mouffion is the subject of one of
Keeper Holmes theories. The animal is
variously called the Sandman or the
Corsican moufflon, or the muffie, and
scientifically the owls musimon. 1t is a
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 are
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. 1t closely resem
bles the Rocky mountain wild sheep, but
is prettier.
The moufiion has wool and hair like
any other sheep. The wool comes next
to the skin and 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 the latter les:
hair and more wool The wool is devel
oped and the hair decreases after domes
; tication.
The moufflon's wool is Of a yellowish
white and his hair of light chestnut
color. 1t is gray ON tiie muzzle, the alb
Gomen and the inner side of the thighs
, and white on the under side of the tail
, The hair grows thinner in summer.
The mouiilon has u very bumpy fore
head just over the eyes. Its head il
, Is compressed.
The gentleman moufflon has immense
hollow horns. They are triangular
, They bend backward in semicircle
and take another small twist before they
come 10 points. The bases of the horn:
occupy almost the entire forehead abov,
, the bumpy part mentioned.
There is something very interesting
connected with these horns. The moutfiol
is one Of the most difficult animals I,
shoot or catch. He is very timid, yer,
I swift, and can take refuge in places in
: accessible to man. His horns serve hin
for defense very seldom, however, au,
. principally as "a means of escape.
= TRUSTS TO Ills HORNS.
The mouiiion can see the wind or tn,
= scent of man coming-in what WA
!. will bc explained later. 1t is his custom
I to stand ON the edge Of "A precipice ant
|. watch the approaching wind or foe
When he thinks it time to get out Of tn
way he takes dive, apparently TO hi
inevitable destruction. As u matter o
n fact. lac alights ON his immense horns
y which causes him to bounce of the groun,
le few feet into the air Then he alight
Is comfortably ON his feet.
= One veracious sportsman relates tina
= he had got within easy shooting distanc
n of moufflon when the animal took hi
~ customary dive. Great was the sports
le mans surprise when, after few min
II utes, he saw the moutflon reappear O
y the spot whence he had dived.
. In his fear the mouffion had taken sue
p hard dive that he bounded back to ex
y aetly the place which he had left The
/. the sportsman shot him easily, of course
n The moutfion has u remarkably fine AN
s. large blue eye. Its with this that Keepe
Holmes theory is connected.
The eyes are situated ut the side Of tn
head, and, not unnaturally, are yer
e wide apart. The animal can look i
"a front, TO the side and behind withou
). moving his head. OF this there is n
IT possible doubt whatever.
l. Keeper Holmes says that the mouffio
so can see the wind, which has a red colo
Of to him and varies in redness accordin
4 to its velocity. The fact that he is afrai
Il OF anything red goes to prove this, A
q animals. says Mr.. Holmes, which can Sc
it the wind are timid, and SO should we b
t. Il we could do SO. Can il be that thi
10 theory would account for the mentu
70 distress of gentlemen who see thing
which Others cannot The moufflon, a,
cordiug to Mr.. Holmes. can see othe
sights and smell other smells of whic
! we are entirely unconscious.
!, 1t should be said that he is borne gu
more or less in his theory by scientist:
Ia Sir John Lubbock has recently foun
II out that his ants are conscious of sewers
IT colors unknown 10 men The same thin
r is true of many other animals in regar
to smells. New York Evening Sun.
~
. No Fiction Wanted.
n q