138 MAMMALS

some specimens having been measured at five feet
along the curve. The wild sheep of Europe is the
mouflon, now found only in Corsica and Sardinia ; its
horns curve outwards over the face and backwards
over the head, and rarely exceed twenty-eight inches
in length. The horns of the bharal or nahoor, the
blue sheep of Tibet, are more goat-like in character,

 

THE ALPINE IBEX

and may measure thirty inches in length, The
African species is the maned sheep of Barbary, O.
tragelaphus, which is also found in Baluchistan and
in Asia Minor. The flocks of this sheep always
place one of their number as a sentinel, and the duty
is taken in turns, the youngest going on guard first.
The horns of the goats are placed more upright