We've seen it all happening - coyotes are walking around near Golden Gates in San Francisco, buffalo’s walking along an empty highway in India, wild pigs are taking over the streets in Mexico.

Since the coronavirus lockdown, we see less human activity on the streets and instead, wild animals are taking over empty neighborhoods.

One of the recent events that took place is in Spain, where thousands of sheep’s have been spotted walking around an area where once it used to be a busy intersection.  

There is currently no indication if this video relates to the annual event which takes place in the Spanish capital each year since 1994, where shepherds exercise their right to use traditional routes to migrate their livestock from northern Spain to more southerly winter grazing pastures.

The route would have taken them through the undeveloped countryside a few centuries ago, but today it cuts through Madrid's bustling city center and along some of its most famous streets.

Regardless of what have happened, the video has received thousands of online views across social media platforms.

The fights in nature are really funny. Here's another fight between sheep and deer. They seem really fiery, but also funny. It seems that sheep did not expect such force from deer.

The mouflon is a graceful mountain sheep that has existed on the planet since the third century BC. It is the forefather of the well-known domestic sheep. Depending on the habitat, there is an Asian and European mouflon. The first is common in the coastal Mediterranean.

 

Top facts about mouflons

 

The mouflon is especially revered in Cyprus. The image of a wild ram was used as the logo of the local airline. It is applied to national banknotes, coins, and postage stamps.

 

 

 

1. The smallest wild sheep currently preserved in Europe is the mouflon.

 

2. These representatives of the order of artiodactyls belong to the genus of the same name of mouflon, which includes 8 subspecies.

 

3. It is these rams that are the progenitors of an ordinary domestic sheep. The males are called "moufron", and the females - "mufr".

 

MALE AND FEMALE MOUFLONS

 

4. Mouflons live in Armenia, in particular in the Armenian Highlands, in northwestern Iran and northern Iraq, in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Pakistan and some other Asian countries.

 

5. In the past, they were found in the Crimea and the Balkans, from where they disappeared more than 3,000 years ago.

 

6. In the Neolithic era, mouflons penetrated Cyprus, Corsica, Sardinia and Rhodes, forming a specific subspecies there, called the Cypriot mouflon.

 

7. In the last century, the mouflon was introduced to North America, Eastern Europe (south of Ukraine).

 

FEMALE MOUFLONS

 

8. Today, depending on the geographical distribution, eight subspecies of the mouflon are distinguished, each of which is rare and is under the protection of the law.

 

9. All mouflons are divided into two types depending on the habitat: European mouflon and Asian mouflon or arcal.

 

10. European mouflons can only be found on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, but recently the mouflon population has been artificially settled in the southern regions of Europe and Cyprus.

 

11. Quite recently, a small population of mouflons was brought to North and South America for future hunting.

 

EUROPEAN MOUFLONS

 

12. The difference between European and Asian mouflon is very noticeable. The European Mouflon has a fairly short, smooth-lying coat that is longer on the chest. In summer, the wool of rams has a reddish-brown color, on the back of darker shades, and in winter it is brown-chestnut.

 

13. The height at the withers is 83-93 centimeters, the length of the male can reach 130 centimeters, of which 10 centimeters is the tail. A distinctive feature of males is strongly developed thick trihedral horns, forming one curl, they can reach 85 centimeters in length, there are about 35 folds on the horns. The weight of males is up to 50 kilograms.

 

14. The coat color of the female is slightly lighter, the weight is not more than 28 kilograms, the horns are almost always absent, and if they are, they are very small.

 

ASIAN MOUFLON

 

15. The Asian mouflon is slightly larger than its European counterpart. The height at the withers in males can reach 110 centimeters, and the body length is 150 centimeters, and the weight is about 55-79 kilograms. The physique of these sheep is strong and slender. The horns, helically twisted for one turn, are curved first outward and upward, and then inward with the ends facing inward. The girth of the horns can be 30 centimeters, they have transverse wrinkles.

 

16. Females are much smaller, their weight is no more than 46 kilograms.

 

17. In summer, the short coat of Asian mouflons has a reddish-brown or reddish-yellow color. In winter, the coat becomes brown with barely noticeable red and brown tones. The coat on the belly is lighter, and there is a distinct black stripe along the spine, especially noticeable in adults.

 

Mouflon is a herbivore, herbs and cereals make up the bulk of its diet. It often feeds on agricultural fields, destroying crops. Mouflons feast on sedge, leek, feather grass, berries, mushrooms, lichen, moss.

 

19. Mouflons live in rather large herds of up to 100, and sometimes 200 individuals, mainly females and lambs. Males keep alone and only for the duration of the mating season join the herd.

 

 

20. The way of life of mouflons is completely subordinated to the search for food. They are able to travel considerable distances to find suitable pastures rich in lush green grass. Mouflons live in open spaces, but at the same time they try to stay close to forest plantations so that they have somewhere to hide in case of danger. They prefer gentle mountain slopes. In the mountains they are found at an altitude of up to 4,000 meters above sea level.

 

21. Mouflons adhere to a herbivore diet. If there is no fresh water, the mouflon can also use very salty water. Throughout the spring-summer period, mouflons are gaining weight intensively, but in autumn and winter, rams noticeably lose weight.

 

22. The mouflon reaches puberty at 24-36 months, however, young males begin to breed only by 4-5 years, only at this age they can compete with adults.

 

23. From October to December, the rut begins in animals, and in order to achieve the favor of the female, the males have to arrange real fights, only those who win get the right to mate. After the end of the rut, the males leave the herd and live alone.

 

24. Pregnancy of a mouflon female lasts five months and ends with the birth of one or less often several cubs, this usually happens in March-April.

 

MOUFLONS BABY

 

25. Newborn lambs develop quickly and after 1-2 hours after birth, they become on their feet and can even jump. At first, the mother feeds the newborns with her milk, and having matured a little, the lambs begin to eat the same food as adults. Matured lambs live in herds with their mother.

 

26. Mouflon is one of the oldest representatives of the animal world. The first mention of mouflons dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. - Their drawings were discovered in the Sahara desert.

 

27. Mouflon is a wild, freedom-loving animal, therefore it prefers to migrate rather than settle strictly in one area. Its main route is watering and pastures.

 

28. Mouflons are predominantly nocturnal, during the day they rest in forests or wide mountain gorges. Females with cubs live in a herd of up to a hundred individuals.

 

29. Males prefer loneliness, they can be found in the herd only during mating periods. These artiodactyls have a strict hierarchy. Young males up to three years old are not allowed to mate with mature individuals.

 

30. For their habitat, mouflons choose steep mountain slopes with rich vegetation, they can also live on gentle mountain slopes, in the foothills. In summer they rise higher.

 

 

31. Once on a rocky area, the mouflons do not feel very confident, if they find themselves on the edge of an abyss or in a rocky gorge, they become completely helpless.

 

32. The molting period for mouflons falls on the end of February and ends in April. From May to August they have summer fur, and in September winter begins to appear, which is fully formed only by December.

 

33. Mouflons in the wild have natural enemies - these are wolves, leopards, and foxes can hunt small lambs.

 

34. If the animal feels danger, it can move quickly in open areas, while making loud and sharp sound signals.

 

35. In Corsica and Sardinia, mouflons inhabit the elevated parts of the islands. However, even here they are not a typical mountain animal, but rather a mountain forest animal.

 

36. Under normal conditions, they do not climb mountains above 2000 meters, avoid very steep slopes and rocky places. But the presence of a forest is an indispensable condition for the existence of a European mouflon.

 

37. Mouflons spend summer in a strip of light chestnut and oak forests, as well as in pine forests and clearings of deciduous plantations, where animals find not only food, but also shade and protection in the daytime. Alpine lawns, located next to the forest, go out for grazing only at night.

 

38. According to the way of life, the mouflon is a nocturnal animal. He spends most of the day hidden in the forest. Only before sunset does it come out to the zhirovka, often located quite far from the places of daytime shelters.

 

 

39. Apparently, there are no permanent transition paths for mouflons. They graze all night, before sunrise they return to the forest. In winter, warm sunny valleys and slopes in the sun are chosen for rest and grazing, and in summer, during hot daytime hours, they look for coolness in the shade of shrubs and trees.

 

40. Mouflons are the only rams that do not shed their horns.

 

41. The relationship between the mouflon and man has been going on for more than one thousand years. The domestication of animals began about 10 thousand years ago, and all this time the hunt for wild mouflons did not stop. They were mined for tasty meat and beautiful skins, and horns are considered a valuable hunting trophy. However, it is difficult to get such a trophy - mouflons are very cautious animals, moreover, they live in hard-to-reach areas. Since the population of these animals is constantly declining, their habitats are taken under protection.

 

MOUFLONS IN CAPITVITY

 

42. Recently, attempts have been made to keep mouflons in captivity, for this purpose enclosures are used. These animals quickly adapt to such conditions, so their maintenance is not difficult. In captivity, they can live 12-17 years.

 

43. Over the past 24 years (three generations), the global mouflon population has declined by 30%. The main reasons for this sad trend were poaching, hybridization and general environmental pollution.

 

44. There are also natural dangers for this species. The main natural enemies of mouflons are leopards and wolves. Cubs can also become prey for smaller predators: foxes or martens. Therefore, back in 1996, the species was included in the International Red Book and given the VU conservation status.

 

45. In 2001, the mouflon was cloned, the born lamb lived for 7 months.

 

MOUNTAIN MERINO

 

46. ​​Using mouflons, a new breed of sheep was bred - mountain merinos, which can graze in the mountains all year round.

 

47. By the wrinkles on the horns of males, one can determine their age.

 

48. To improve the quality of domestic sheep, it is mouflons that are used for crossing and further breeding.

 

49. Mouflons are especially revered in Cyprus, where he is a symbol of the nature of the island, their numbers are controlled by the state.

 

50. Mouflons are depicted on the stamps and coins of Cyprus and Kazakhstan.