Snow sheep

The snow sheep  (Ovis nivicola) is a sheep in the family Bovidae.  It lives in Siberia.

Scientists put the snow sheep in the subgenus Pachyceros.  They are in the same group as bighorn sheep and thinhorn sheep.  The bighorns and thinhorns live in North America and the snow sheep live in Eurasia.  The snow sheep used to be called the Asiatic bighorn sheep.

Scientists do not all agree on how many subspecies of snow sheep there are:

Koryak (Ovis nivicola koryakorum)
Kamchatka sheep (Ovis nivicola nivicola)
Okhotsk sheep (Ovis nivicola alleni)
Yablonov sheep (Ovis nivicola potanini)
Putorian sheep (Ovis nivicola borealis)
Yakut sheep (Ovis nivicola lydekkeri)
Kodar sheep (Ovis nivicola kodarensis)

Appearance

The adult male snow sheep can weigh 70-100 kg (155-222 lbs).  The adult female snow sheep can weigh 40-70 kg (90-155 lbs).  This is heavier than most sheep.  They have very thick, curly horns that can be a meter long.

Home

The snow sheep live further north than any other Eurasian sheep.  They live in a large part of Russia with mountains in it.

Snow sheep like open places without many trees or large bushes.

Food

Snow sheep eat grasses, green plants, and sedge.  They can also eat lichen and pine needles. Like other sheep, snow sheep lick clay for the salt.  The kodar subspecies eats coal, but scientists are not sure why.

History

Snow sheep and thinhorn sheep became two separate species around the time the last ice age ended, 10,000 to 18,000 years ago. Scientists think the sheep became different species because the water melted and covered the Bering land bridge.

References

Category:Caprids
Category:Mammals of Asia