Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-10-11
ABOUT THE MOUFFION,
a FEW NOTES UPON a CURIOUS
GUEST or KEEPER HOLMES.

rhe Mounion Has Large Horns 10 BE
Used as Air Charlottesville Can Sec the |
wind Appears Red to HIS Gentle
Eye-several Theories Of Mr.. Holmes.
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. It 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 moufaon. 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 mou1aon present
ed her gentleman with new small
mouff1on of the male sex.
The baby mouflon 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 warm, damp nose against
the hand of anybody who puts it within
her cage.
The moufdon is the subject Of one of
Keeper Holmes theories. The animal is
variously called the Sandman or the
Corsican mouffion, or the mufie, and
scientifically the owls musimon. It is q
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 moufflon 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 mouff1on 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 less
hair and more wool. The wool is devel-
oped and the hair decreases after domes-
| Gcation.
The mouffion's wool is of yellowish
white and his hair of light chestnut
color. It is gray on the muzzle, the alb
eomen and the inner side of the thighs
and white ON the under side of the tail
The hair grows thinner in summer.
The mouff1on has very bumpy fore
head just over the eyes. Its head il
long and intelligent looking. Its muzzl,
is compressed.
The gentleman mouffion has immense
hollow horns. They are triangular
They bend backward in semicircle
and take another small twist before the,
come to points. The bases of the horn
occupy almost the entire forehead abov
the bumpy part mentioned.
There is something very interestin.
connected with these horns. The moufaol
is one of the most difficult animals t
shoot or catch. He is very timid, yer.
swift, and can take refuge in places in
accessible to man. His horns serve hin
for defense very seldom, however, an
principally as means of escape.
TRUSTS TO HIS HORNS.
The moufflon can see the wind or tn
scent of man coming-in what wa
will be explained later It is his custo1
to stand ON the edge of a precipice an
watch the approaching wind or fo'
When he thinks it time to get out of til
way he takes a dive, apparently to h
inevitable destruction. AS a matter {
fact, he alights on his immense horn
7 which causes him to bounce off the groun
, q few feet into the air. Then he align
J comfortably on his feet.
One veracious sportsman relates tn;
he had got within easy shooting distant
a of a moufflon when the animal took h
} customary dive. Great was the sport
9 mans surprise when, after few mi
+ utes, he saw the mouffion reappear {
? the spot whence he had dived.
In his fear the mouffion had taken SUI
/ a hard dive that he bounded back to e
= actly the place which he had left. The
the sportsman shot him easily, of cours
r. The mouffion has remarkably fine al
). large blue eye. tits with this that Keep
Holmes theory is connected.
The eyes are situated at the side of t
head, and, not unnaturally, are We
. wide apart. The animal can look
"a front, to the side and behind witho
: moving his head. OF this there is
IT possible doubt whatever.
l. Keeper Holmes says that the mouth
so can see the wind, which has red col
OF to him and varies in redness accordi
70 to its velocity. Thefact that he is afra
t. of anything red goes to prove this. !
q. animals, says Mr.. Holmes, which can s
it the wind are timid, and so should we
It. If we could do so. Can it be that Il
1e theory would account for the men
to distress of gentlemen who see thir
which others cannot? The mouffion,
cording to Mr.. Holmes, can see OIL
sights and smell other smells OF VIII
* we are entirely unconscious.
=. 1t should be said that he is borne
more or less in his theory by scientis
ba Sir John Lubbock has recently fou
all out that his ants are conscious OF seve
ur colors unknown to men. The same tn
Il L.