Bharal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bharal | |
|---|---|
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| Bharals in Beijing zoo | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Genus: | Pseudois |
| Species: | P. nayaur |
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudois nayaur Hodgson, 1833 |
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The bharal or Himalayan blue sheep, Pseudois nayaur, is a caprid found in the high Himalayas of Nepal, Tibet, China, Kashmir, Pakistan, Bhutan and the Republic of India.
The bharal has horns that grow upwards, curve out and then towards the back, somewhat like an upside down mustache.
The bharal was also the focus of George Schaller's and Peter Matthiessen's expedition to Nepal in 1973. Their personal experiences are well documented by Matthiessen in his book, The Snow Leopard. The bharal is a major food of the snow leopard.
The Dwarf Blue Sheep (P. schaeferi) is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the bharal.
[edit] Species and Subspecies
- Chinese Blue Sheep, Pseudois nayaur szechuanensis
- Himilayan Blue Sheep, Pseudois nayaur nayaur
- Helen Shan Slue Sheep, Pseudois nayaur ssp
- Dwarf Blue Sheep, Pseudois schaeferi
[edit] Competition with Donkeys
High diet overlap between livestock(especially donkeys) and bharal, together with density-dependent forage limitation, results in resource competition and a decline in bharal density.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ MISHRA, CHARUDUTT; SIPKE E. VAN WIEREN,PIETER KETNER. "Competition between domestic livestock and wild bharal Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya". Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 344-354. http://www.resource-ecology.org/resources/publications/2004_Mishra,Wieren,Heitkonig,Prins_CompetitionBetweenDomesticLivestockAndWildBharal.pdf.
- Harris, R.B. (2008). Pseudois nayaur. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 5 April 2009. Database entry includes a lengthy justification of why this species is of least concern
- Namgail, T., Fox, J.L. & Bhatnagar, Y.V. (2004). Habitat segregation between sympatric Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Journal of Zoology (London), 262: 57-63
- Namgail, T. (2006). Winter Habitat Partitioning between Asiatic Ibex and Blue Sheep in Ladakh, Northern India. Journal of Mountain Ecology, 8: 7-13.
- Bharal at Animal Diversity Web
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