Mouflon is the only wild sheep in Europe. Mouflon animal. Habitat and characteristics of mouflon Maintenance of mouflons in captivity

Kira Stoletova

Mouflon is one of the oldest representatives of the animal world. These artiodactyls are considered the ancestors of the domestic sheep. Even those who have never seen a wild ram can recognize it by its characteristic rounded horns.

Wild mouflons are distributed throughout Eurasia, but due to the unusual structure of their horns and valuable fur coat, they are hunted in many countries. The extermination of the animal population by humans has led to the fact that some Mouflon breeds are placed in the Red Book. Today, such animals are kept in nature reserves and zoos, and in some countries they are bred at home.

Habitat and species of animals

Mouflon is a herbivorous artiodactyl animal whose habitat is predominantly mountainous. These rams are considered the ancestors of domestic sheep and are considered one of the most ancient representatives of the animal world.

There are two main varieties of this breed, which differ in appearance and habitat:

• European mouflon;
• Asian wild Mouflon, or Arcal.

The European breed of artiodactyls inhabits mountain coasts Mediterranean Sea, in particular, its representatives inhabit:

• Cyprus;
• Sardinia;
• Corsica.

European Mouflon lives in Armenia and Iraq. This breed can also be found in Crimea, where it was brought from southern countries. Mouflon has adapted to the Crimean climate and leads a semi-free existence in nature reserves. IN European countries he is considered the last mountain sheep living in natural environment a habitat.

The Asian wild sheep is different from European look With a more massive body structure, in addition, the horns of representatives of eastern wild sheep curl back, and not on the sides. You can distinguish the European and Asian mouflon from the photo.

The range of the eastern artiodactyl is south Asia. Mouflon is found in countries such as:

• Tajikistan;
• Uzbekistan;
• Türkiye;
• Turkmenistan.

Arkal is also found on the territory of Kazakhstan, local residents which this artiodactyl is revered. The Ustyurt sheep is found in the steppes of Mangyshlak and Ustyurt.

Character and lifestyle of wild sheep

Artiodactyls prefer a migratory way of life. The route of their movement is usually laid between watering places and pastures. Animals live in gently sloping mountainous terrain. Unlike wild goats, Arkalas are at home in rocky regions.

Wild sheep lead night look life, sleeping during the day in mountain gorges or forest plantations. Females with lambs create a herd that numbers up to 100 heads.

Males prefer a solitary lifestyle, joining the herd during the mating period. Artiodactyls are characterized by strict hierarchical system: males under 3 years of age are not allowed to mate and larger individuals are driven away.

IN wildlife in an animal natural enemies There are predators such as:

• Steppenwolf;
• Wolverine;
• Lynx.

For young animals, a fox or a wild dog can pose a danger.

Exterior of an artiodactyl

Representatives of the European breed are smaller in size than domestic sheep. Artiodactyls of this species have the following characteristics:

1. The height of an adult ram is 90 cm, body length is approximately 131 centimeters.
2. The female weighs up to 30 kg, the male usually weighs about 50 kg due to the heavy horns.
3. The age of the animal is determined by the ring-shaped growths on the horns.
4. The female is usually polled or has small horns.
5. The fur of the artiodactyl changes color depending on the time of year: in summer hairline has a red color, the shade becomes darker in winter.

Mouflons are characterized by a black stripe on their back. The belly, nose and hooves are usually light in color.

Representatives of the Asian breed have a more massive body structure, and also for Armenian mouflons characteristic beard on the muzzle. The exterior of the eastern wild sheep includes the following features:

1. The height of an adult animal reaches 95 cm, and the body length is 150 cm.
2. The weight of the male varies from 53 to 80 kg, depending on the weight of the horns. Females reach a weight of 45 kg.
3. The horns of males curl back and have a diameter of up to 30 cm at the base.
4. Females are most often polled.

The Arkalov's coat color is similar to its European relatives, but the eastern breed is characterized by a white chest color.

Wild sheep diet

Mouflons are herbivores, so the main part of their diet consists of cereals and forbs. The animal is often found in crop fields, thereby damaging the crop.

The normal diet of an artiodactyl consists of the following components:

• green food: feather grass, wheatgrass, sedge;
• shrubs and young trees;
• mushrooms and berries;
• moss, lichen.

In winter, artiodactyls extract plant roots from under the snow. Wormy berries and carrion are valued by herbivores because they supply the Mouflon body with necessary proteins.

Reproduction of artiodactyls

Mouflon females reach sexual maturity at 2 years, which is considered the fastest maturation among other representatives of artiodactyls. Pregnancy lasts 5 months, after which one or two lambs are born.

The cubs are on their feet on the first day and are able to follow the herd. Most often, the birth of offspring occurs in March and April, since it is easier to raise lambs in the warm season.

The average lifespan of a wild sheep is 15 years. European mouflons breed better in captivity. Unlike the European one, the Asian wild Mouflon does not reproduce well in zoos.

Mouflon and man

The European breed of wild sheep is actively used in breeding. Based on this species, new breeds of domestic sheep have been developed that are capable of year-round grazing on mountain pastures. European artiodactyl meat has good taste qualities, and leather is used in light industry.

In winter, the animal's hair becomes thick and dense, so fur coats are made from Mouflons. northern countries. Because of large quantity positive qualities In some countries, not only wild mouflons are hunted, but also animals are raised on farms.

Armenian wild or Transcaucasian Mountain sheep is in the Red Book because Mouflon hunting and pollution natural environment reduced the animal population.

As you know, all domestic animals have wild ancestors, many of which are alive and well in our time. For a cat it is a wild forest cat, for a dog it is a wolf. But for domestic sheep, such an ancestor is actually mouflon. This wild sheep is a typical mountain dweller. Mouflons also live in Europe (in the area of ​​Corsica and Sardinia) - this is a European subspecies; and in Asia, including in the region of Kazakhstan, this is an Asian variety. The European mouflon is the only wild sheep in this part of the world.

An Asian variety of mouflon lives in the region of Kazakhstan.

Characteristics of mouflon

Mouflon is a medium-sized ram distinguished by large, tightly curled horns.. Horns are found predominantly in males; in sheep they can also occur, but only in very in rare cases, they are less pronounced and smaller in size. The Asian subspecies (which can be seen in the reserves of Kazakhstan) is slightly larger in size, but otherwise practically does not differ from the European one; it also has thick horns, triangular in diameter and twisted only one turn.

In countries former USSR this species is also found in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Transcaucasia. And in foreign Asia it is found in Iran, Afghanistan, and some areas of India. The color of these creatures is reddish-brown in summer; in Asian animals it can vary to yellowish-red. The fur is short during this period. The European mouflon may have a darker stripe on its back. By winter, the coat becomes longer and acquires a darker, brown color.

The Asian wild sheep has a peculiar mane of black, brown and white hair on the lower half of its neck. The color of mouflon makes it inconspicuous against the background of the mountain landscape; This makes hunting him more difficult. As already mentioned, mouflon is a mountain sheep and is found only in this type of landscape. This wild sheep tries to avoid steep rocky slopes, preferring flat, open places.

The Asian wild sheep has a peculiar mane of black, brown and white hair on the lower half of its neck.

This animal is interesting social behavior. Sheep and lambs form large herds, numbering up to one hundred individuals; but males lead a solitary life, joining the herd only during the breeding season.

Despite this, it is the males who have a sense of hierarchy and build appropriate relationships within the group. When it is very hot, mouflons like to rest in the shade of trees. If the shadow moves, the animals move into it again. They prefer to be active at night, this should be taken into account by those who are attracted to hunting them. Characteristics:

• male mouflon length – 1.25 m;
• tail length – 10 cm;
• shoulder height – 70 cm;
• cross-sectional length of the horn is up to 65 cm;
• weight 40–50 kg.

Mouflon hunting

The hunt for mouflon has been going on for a long time. Only the European subspecies is of commercial importance, producing tasty meat and high-quality leather. Asian meat is also sometimes eaten, but it is not of high quality. The Asian mountain sheep has mainly “entertainment” value - it is hunted for sport. It is difficult to hunt these animals because they live in inaccessible places.

Mouflon hunting

In case of danger, the mountain sheep quickly runs away, heading for a wide open place, where he can run wherever he pleases. So mouflon hunting is not for the faint of heart. The horns of this animal are valuable; it is a real honor to obtain them. Possession of such horns is pride good hunter. But it’s not only hunting that attracts mouflon lovers. Since this ram is the most close relative the familiar sheep, selection work has been underway for a long time to develop new breeds.

Thus, Academician M.F. Ivanov, using mouflon, obtained a new breed of sheep. It is capable of grazing on high mountain pastures throughout the year. In the Ustyurt Nature Reserve of Kazakhstan and in a number of other places, hunting mouflons is prohibited.

Mouflons in reserves and in captivity

Attempts to acclimatize mouflons have also been going on for a long time, and most often they are successful. At the beginning of the twentieth century, several such animals were settled in Crimea. They took root in the Crimean Nature Reserve and subsequently multiplied. Mouflons in captivity should be borne in mind that they are in great need of water. Therefore, the enclosure must be equipped with a large capacity. They do not hesitate to drink even very salt water, if there is no other nearby.

Mouflons have taken root in the Crimean Nature Reserve

The enclosure must have sufficient space, because these animals are not accustomed to cramped conditions. Mouflons are not that uncommon in the reserve. Initially, the distribution of these sheep in Europe was limited only to Sardinia and Corsica, but then they were successfully distributed throughout Southern Europe. These animals are not protected everywhere.

Mouflons also live in a nature reserve in Cyprus. The local variety of these animals is national symbol state: mouflon is depicted on various emblems, stamps, bills, coins and even on the airline logo. Hunting for it in the Paphos nature reserve is strictly prohibited. The area in Paphos where these artiodactyls live is very small - only 500 square meters. This is one large enclosure surrounded by barbed wire. So you can easily spot animals. It is prohibited to enter the “aviary” itself.

Local government pays monetary compensation to those farmers whose lands were damaged by mouflons. This allows us to save the population from disgruntled farmers who almost destroyed these rare animals. You can also look at mouflons in some city zoo where there is an enclosure with them, but it is much more interesting to see them like this, “live”, in their natural habitat.

On the territory of Kazakhstan, the Ustyurt mountain reserve is famous, one of the “symbols” of which is the mouflon. He is depicted on one of the postage stamps of Kazakhstan, dedicated to the reserve. Here there is much more space for these sheep; they no longer require an “aviary”, as in Cyprus.

Hunting mouflon in nature reserves is strictly prohibited

This reserve was created in 1984. At that time, the deserts of Western Kazakhstan were being developed, and the problem arose of preserving rare species flora and fauna. In addition to mouflons, there are many other protected animals and plants, including 5 species listed in the Red Book. The administration of the reserve is located more than 200 kilometers from the reserve itself - in the city of Zhanaozen.

Mouflon and argali

In appearance and size, mouflon is very similar to argali. This is another mountain sheep that also lives in Central Asia and southern regions of Siberia. What is the difference between these two closely related species? These are horns: in argali they are more curved and “pretentious”; moreover, not only males, but also females have this decoration. But the mouflon has more subtle and “aristocratic” facial features.

Argali are unknown to modern Europeans; ancient authors were well aware of them. Latin name species Ovis ammon goes back to Ovid's poem, which conveys ancient myth: fearing the terrible giant Typhon, the gods turned into different animals; Egyptian Amon turned into argali - a mountain sheep.

Mouflon (Ovis gmelini or Ovis orientalis) is a ruminant artiodactyl animal of the sheep genus.

Mouflon

Distribution area of ​​mouflons

European mouflon, “mufrone” (“ram”), “mufr”a (“sheep”) is a wild sheep that has survived only on high mountains Corsica and Sardinia, but it is widely settled in the southern regions of Europe; it is also found in Cyprus.

This is the only wild sheep in Europe.

Inhabits open spaces with slightly rugged terrain and gentle mountain slopes.

It lives in mixed herds, sometimes very large. In summer, males and females live separately. During the rutting season, which occurs in the fall, tournament fights occur between males.

The mouflon's coat is quite short, smooth-lying, elongated on the chest, the upper side is reddish-brown in summer with a darker back, chestnut-brown in winter; underside white;

The length of the mouflon - males is 1.25 m, of which the tail is 10 cm long, the height at the shoulders is 70 cm. The males have highly developed thick and triangular in cross-section horns, up to 65 cm long, with 30-40 folds, the weight of the male is 40-50 kg .

The female is lighter, smaller and usually lacks horns, but sometimes females also have horns, but only in exceptional cases and are small in size.

Asian mouflon(Ovis orientalis, Ovis aries orientalis) – a mammal from the genus of mountain sheep of the subfamily goat family bovids.

Asian mouflon taller than the European, its height at the shoulders is up to 90 cm, body length can reach 150 cm. The weight of the male is up to 80 kg, females up to 46 kg.

The Asian mouflon forms 5 subspecies and is distributed from Transcaucasia and the southern parts of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan to the Mediterranean Sea and the northwestern part of India.

It is also found in Armenia, northern Iraq, the Balkans and Crimea, where it was introduced in 1913.

Lives in the mountains, can rise to a height of about 4000 meters.
The horns of the Asian mouflon are large, spirally twisted, triangular, forming no more than one whorl. The horns are curved, first outward and upward, and then downward, the ends slightly turned inward.

The horns of males vary greatly in length and massiveness; their girth at the base is from 20 to 30 cm.

The horns of females are small, flattened, slightly curved, and often absent altogether.

In summer, the color of Asian mouflons is reddish-brown or yellowish-red in summer, and the fur is short. In winter, the color is brownish, with poorly developed red and white tones. Belly and inner side legs are lighter, with a yellowish or white color.

There is a dark stripe on the ridge, more pronounced in adult animals. Along the underside of the neck, Asian mouflons usually have a mane of black-brown and white hair. Young lambs are covered with soft brownish-gray fur.

The distribution area of ​​Asian mouflons is mountainous landscapes.

Females and lambs form a herd of up to 100 individuals together, while males are solitary and only join the herd during the rut. Males are characterized by the presence of strong hierarchical connections within the community.

Mouflons feed on grasses, shoots and leaves of bushes. They regularly go to watering holes, and can even drink very salty water. Starting in the spring, they diligently gain weight, and in the fall and winter they lose a lot of weight.

Wild mouflons are preyed upon by wolves and leopards, and lambs by smaller predators such as foxes.

But main enemy mouflon - “man with a gun.” This animal is not of great industrial interest; only so-called “trophy hunters” hunt it as a “sports trophy.” Large mouflon horns are an “enviable trophy” for such a “hunter.”

It is very difficult to catch a mouflon, since it is a very cautious animal that lives in inaccessible terrain, and therefore “trophy hunters” use the most modern optics and long-range sniper rifles and carbines.

It is believed that the mouflon is the progenitor of all breeds of domestic sheep and was domesticated about 8 thousand years ago.

Successful acclimatization of the European mouflon is of great scientific and practical importance, since the ancestor of domestic sheep, mouflon easily forms crosses, hybrids with various breeds sheep, improving their quality.

Soviet academician M.F. Ivanov, using mouflon, developed a new breed of sheep - mountain merino, Which can all year round graze on mountain pastures.

Mountain merino - descendant of mouflon

A.A. Kazdym

List of used literature

Complete illustrated encyclopedia. "Mammals" // " The New Encyclopedia of Mammals" // Ed. D. MacDonald. M.: "Omega", 2007

http://www.zoopicture.ru/muflon/

http://www.apus.ru/site.xp/049056052054124049056049056050.htm

http://www.zooeco.com/eco-mlek/eco-mlek44003.html

http://ru.enc.tfode.com/%D0%9C%D1%83%D1%84%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BD

http://carter.agroblogs.com/527-razvodim_ovets_porodyi_gornyie_merinosyi-3466

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Guide to Breeding β-Mouflons
(intended for agricultural cooperatives in high mountain areas)

1. Classification (standard)

Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrates
Class: Mammals
Infraclass: Placental
Order: Artiodactyls
Suborder: Ruminants
Family: Bovids
Genus: Rams
Type: β-mouflon

2. Bradley-Gromov classification

Mutation index/original species 3/domestic sheep
Dominance over the original species
in natural habitat +
Activation of recessive genes standard
Spontaneous mutations
stable radiation background ≈ 0.5%

3. Description of appearance

β-Mouflon is a cloven-hoofed ruminant with straight white (sometimes light gray) hair. In adult individuals, the length of the coat reaches 35 cm. Males have two pairs of horns. The outer pair is coiled (1.5-2 turns depending on age), covering the sides of the neck; the inner pair of horns curve down over the animal's snout and are used as a ramming weapon in fighting during the breeding season. Females have one pair of spiral-shaped horns (2.5-3 turns) covering the sides of the neck. The color of the horns is beige in young animals and steel in adult animals. Legs are strong, well adapted for long journeys over mountainous terrain. Adult females usually weigh 65-120 kg, while larger males weigh 90-150 kg. The height at the withers of adult animals is: for males - 140-160 cm, for females - 110-120 cm. β-mouflons have 36 teeth: 6 paired molars (top and bottom), 6 paired premolars (bottom and top), 4 canines (2 pairs from below) and 8 incisors (from below). The tail does not exceed 10 cm in length and is usually not noticeable against the background of the fur.

4. Habits and behavioral characteristics

β-Mouflons are characterized by increased reproduction. Under favorable conditions environment and a sufficient amount of food, females give birth to 4-6 lambs twice a year (in mid-spring and mid-autumn). Reaching sexual maturity occurs at 1.5 years. During the half-season mating is normal public organizationβ-mouflons (20-30 dominant males and 600-1500 females with young) is changing. Young males who have reached sexual maturity form a group and beat the dominant males to death, after which they mate with all the females who have reached sexual maturity. Regulation of the number of males occurs in the next 1.5-2 weeks after mating - 20-30 new dominant males kill weaker rivals.
All attempts to separate one individual or group of individuals from the general herd resulted in refusal to eat and death of the animal/animals within 2-3 weeks.
If a female dies, her lambs are adopted by other adult females.
β-Mouflons eat fresh grass or hay, tree bark and young shoots of bushes. Cases of eating insects and eggs of mountain turkeys are described.
β-Mouflons have acute hearing and sense of smell. At the same time, the animals' vision is not sufficiently developed, which is explained by the limitation of the viewing angle by spiral-shaped horns and thick hair on the muzzle. An abrupt light/dark transition can cause panic in the animal, which, taking into account the strong herd instinct of β-mouflons, instantly spreads to the entire herd.
When attacked by predators, females gather around the young, and dominant males attack, ramming the attacker at a speed of 50-60 km/h. There were no recorded cases of aggression towards humans.
The increase in the number of herds under favorable environmental conditions is approximately 20-25% per year (taking into account attacks by predators, diseases, losses when crossing rivers and overcoming gorges and mountain ranges).

Adult β-mouflon can withstand temperatures down to -50°C. During the first year of life, young animals are less frost-resistant, but due to the fact that the temperature in the middle of the herd rarely drops below -15°C in winter, animals can be grazed throughout the year. In autumn and spring, it is recommended to graze the flock on flat areas, which allows the lambs to get stronger before dangerous mountain crossings.
Hair trimming is done every three months, starting from the age of 1.5 years of the animal. The minimum length of fleece required for an adult β-mouflon is 12 cm.
The blood of an animal can be used for food within 10 hours after slaughter. β-Mouflon meat is stored, frozen and used for food, like the meat of any animal with a mutation index of 3.

Friends, get your scarves and vests ready, and also make room for space...
...I present to your attention a detective story about... a feathered mouflon:

About the benefits of watching the program “In the Animal World” by junior police officers.

At night, a mouflon mysteriously disappeared from the enclosure of a zoo in one of the southern, but quite Russian cities. That is, of course, he did not disappear on his own. And it’s not that very mysterious. The exhibit was not prone to escape. Therefore, the saddened zoologists thought, he was kidnapped rudely and cynically, under the cover of a stuffy southern night. This was indicated by the presence of a colony of eternally hungry homeless people, freely spread out in the floodplain of the river - very close to the destitute zoo. There was no need to guess about the mechanism for stealing the mouflon...

The regional police department received a corresponding statement. It would be nice right after the mouflon disappears. No, careless experts in the psychology of vipers and the copulation characteristics of hippopotamuses brought it on the third day after the disappearance of a valuable specimen... Even a total and radical washing of the gastrointestinal tracts of the surrounding homeless people could no longer provide any evidence. But the statement was registered, the case was given an official move. Something had to be done. The head of the regional UGRO acted in the same way as all the heads of the UGRO of Russia would have acted in his place: he entrusted the young operator himself at that time, Lieutenant Igor Piskarev, to find the mouflon.

Although Lieutenant Piskarev was young, even after the third glass he could not admit the thought that he would someday reveal the secret of the disappearance of a particularly valuable mouflon. At the same time, he conscientiously crawled around the entire zoo, so that some of the larger felines began to recognize him. The Ussuri tiger did not take his yellow prisoner eyes off him for a particularly long time. The lieutenant also talked with some representatives of the homeless detachment, from those who at the time of the conversation could still knit bast. From these conversations, Piskarev came away with the firm conviction that it was they who devoured the unfortunate mouflon. He would have been glad to attach this conviction to the case, but it was not filed... A generally trivial matter turned into a hanging case - one of those that you can’t hide, you can’t put it in a safe until better times. Obviously, keeping this in mind and feeling the coming troubles with his ass repeatedly, the head of the UGRO did not give the young officer a pass. And in front of his spiteful colleagues, he gave the lieutenant demonstrative and offensive reprimands.

Soon Piskarev fell into despair. Having fallen, he gave birth to an unusually rich and saving idea: who, in fact, is stopping him from getting rid of this nightmare by refusing to initiate a criminal case? “Nobody,” the lieutenant reasoned. The idea promised peace. The idea saved everyone. But it was necessary to somehow justify all this... The main thing: how could a mouflon disappear from a securely locked enclosure? In Rus', the only source of zoological knowledge available to every police lieutenant since time immemorial has been the program “In the World of Animals.” But our hero, apparently, did not watch it. Otherwise... However, the Lord did not offend the lieutenant with his imagination, although he still had to gnaw on his hand almost a centimeter before it dawned on him. Thus was born another police imperishable. We will quote it in full:

"RESOLUTION ON REFUSAL TO INSTITUTE A CRIMINAL PROCEEDING"

The detective officer of the ESD of the Central Department of Internal Affairs of the city, police lieutenant Igor Yuryevich Piskarev, having examined the material No. 882647 dated August 29, 199... on the fact of the disappearance of a mouflon from the city zoo,

INSTALLED:

08/26/9... the Central Department of Internal Affairs of the city of N received a statement from the director of the city zoo, Semyon Veniaminovich Markizov, about the disappearance of a mouflon from a locked enclosure.

During the collection of material, zoo worker Pavel Ivanovich Kotelko was interviewed, who, upon coming to work in the morning, while distributing food to the animals, discovered the absence of mouflon in the locked enclosure. An inspection of the territory of the zoo and the area adjacent to it did not give positive results. A door-to-door survey of residents of nearby houses initially did not reveal any witnesses to the disappearance of the mouflon.

However, in a conversation with zoo workers, it was established that veterinarian Beskorovainy Valentin Andreevich, whose responsibilities include monitoring the health of animals and birds kept in the zoo, did not take proper measures in a timely manner to prevent the possibility of the mouflon independently leaving the territory of the institution, since due to I didn’t cut his hair wings at the time specified in the trimming schedule, which allowed the above-mentioned bird, taking into account the onset of the period of birds migrating to the south and the highly developed sense of herding in mouflons, upon discovering a flock of wild mouflons flying over the zoo in the direction of warm countries, to run up and take off and join to my brothers, what process of flight was observed by witnesses - citizens Yuri Dmitrievich Stryukov and Sergei Valerievich Pripoiko, who are persons of no fixed abode (selected explanations are attached to the resolution). Taking into account the above, guided by Art. 113 and paragraph 1 of Art. 5 Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR,

DECIDED: To refuse to initiate a criminal case into the disappearance of a mouflon from the city zoo due to the absence of a crime."

Piskarev joyfully and ornately signed the document, and it lay on the desk of the head of the police department. The boss, who had also never watched “In the Animal World,” immediately agreed with the lieutenant and even praised the young detective for his fundamental knowledge of the behavioral characteristics of mouflons and other reptiles. The material was quickly written off to the archive. The zoo, however, timidly called a couple of times and inquired about the posthumous fate of the mouflon, but by this time the head of the UGRO had “turned the tables” on the lieutenant. He answered: we work as soon as possible... Then the zoo was overwhelmed by events - an African elephant fell ill, and a couple of Ussuri tigers had offspring (oh, it was not for nothing that the striped dad was eyeing our lieutenant). They forgot about mouflon.

The thunderstorm struck a year later. The prosecutor, painstakingly checking the refusal materials, came across the case of the “feathered mouflon”. And everything would be fine... The prosecutor himself had little understanding of the issues of bird flights, but the word mouflon seemed familiar to him... Unfortunately for Lieutenant Piskarev, the prosecutor had a wife. And not just a wife, but a zoologist. Moreover, he is a candidate of sciences. A cunning law enforcement officer, tormented by vague doubts, asked his wife: do mouflons really gather in flocks every year and fly, curling, to the south? We don’t know how the prosecutor’s wife responded to his mental abilities. Something else is important. She said that the mouflon is a ruminant, artiodactyl animal belonging to the subspecies of argali. And so that the prosecutor’s last illusions would disappear, she added: “Sheep.” The prosecutor was smart enough to attribute this name not only to his own account...

We cannot say what they did to Lieutenant Piskarev on the official line. But we must assume that nothing is good. Much worse than the other. Since that time, the offensive nickname “Feathered Mouflon” has forever stuck to the poor opera. In the district department, no one still calls him anything else. Well, what kind of eyes...