Blue Sheep

Introduction

The Bharal animal is also called the blue sheep. The scientific name of the bharal blue sheep is Pseudois nayaur and it’s a caprine native to the high Himalayas. The bharal occurs in India, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Nepal. The maximum number of blue sheep are found in the Helen Mountains of Ningxia with as close to thirty thousand of them in total. 

The blue sheep is also called bharal, barhal, bharut, and bharat in Hindi, and in Tibetan and Ladakh, these animals are called na or sna, naur in Nepali, and gnao in Bhutan. Bharal is considered to be the major prey of the snow leopard. 

In this article, we are going to discuss Himalayan blue sheep, their description, habitat, behaviour, reproduction, and also a few of the most important and frequently asked questions related to the topic will be answered. 

Physical Description of the Bharal Animal

• The Bharal or the Blue sheep are regularly found in the Tibetan Plateau. The bharals according to many biologists have been described as “goats with sheeplike traits”.The Blue Sheep has a short, shiny coat that ranges from brownish-grey to greyish blue and offers good concealment among the blue shale, boulders, and brown grasses of Tibet's open hillsides. The rump patch, the tip of the sheep's nose, the belly, the inside and rear of the legs, and the inside and back of the legs are all white. A white mark can also be seen on the knees and above the hooves.

• In females, the front of the neck chest, and the fronts of the legs are usually dark grey and whereas in males it is black in colour. The black or the grey stripe helps in dividing the upper parts of the Blue sheep’s body from the lighter underparts. During the rut, the male’s neck is swollen. 

• Blue sheep have ridged horns on both males and females. Male horns are short but enormous, arching up and out from the top of the animal's head, then backwards and curling at the tip. Male horns average around 24 centimetres in circumference in men over the age of six and can develop to be as long as 84 centimetres. The tips of the male horns are sometimes splintered but they are not broken, broken horns are rare cases. The horns of the female blue sheep are very short and measure between 11-20 centimetres long and do not curve back like the ones which are found in males. 

• The Blue Sheep has big eyes and small, pointed ears. The stocky bulk and strong legs of the Sheep make it an outstanding climber. Adult males generally stand 80 to 91 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh 60 to 75 kg. Females weigh between 35 and 45 kilos.

• The Dwarf Blue Sheep is a smaller version of the Blue Sheep. Male Dwarf Blue sheep weigh between 28 and 39 kilos, while females weigh between 25 and 35 kilograms. The horns of the Dwarf Blue Sheep are likewise smaller than those of the ordinary Blue Sheep, with less of an inward bend and points that turn up more.

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Geographic Description and Habitat 

• The Blue sheep are distributed across the Tibetan Plateau which is relatively an inaccessible habitat for humans and as a result that is a very safe place for these animals. In addition to Tibet, the high montane regions of China, the Northeastern corners of Pakistan, the Indian sector which is bordering China and the mountains of northwestern Nepal are all the regions where the blue sheep are found. 

• The Blue Sheep lives above the timberline on treeless slopes, alpine meadows, and shrub zones. The Sheep loves moderately gentle hillsides covered in grasses and sedges, although it generally stays within 200 meters of cliffs that it may climb to avoid predators.

• The Blue sheep are highly tolerant towards the environmental extremes and can be found in regions ranging from hot and dry to cold, windy, and snowy regions. Theta is also found in the elevated regions which are between 1200 meters to 5300 meters high. The sheep are distributed across the Tibetan Plateau and also across the neighbouring mountain ranges. The habitat range of the Blue Sheep includes Tibet, bordering sections of Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, as well as parts of China's Xinjiang, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Ningxia provinces.

• One of the species of the blue sheep is the Dwarf blue sheep which inhabits the steep, arid, lower slopes of the Yangtze River valley which is at an elevation that ranges from 2600 to 3200 meters. The dwarf blue sheep occurs in the Batang country in Kham which is a Sichuan province. 

Behaviour and Food Habits of the Blue Sheep 

• The blue sheep are known to be most active during the barely morning and in the late afternoon period but are rarely found in the midday time. The blue sheep are mostly found in herds and the herds will consist of either all males, females, females with the newborn, or the combination of both males and females. The herds may range in size from as few as five blue sheep to as many as 500. During the summer season, males get separated from the female herds in a few areas of the blue sheep’s habitat range. 

• The Bharals are gregarious in nature with the group size ranging from 5 to 500 individuals. Depending on the different seasons, habitat conditions, hunting pressure, and disturbance,  the size of the herds is completely dependent on them.

• The composition of the herd varies often as individuals and groups join and leave. Aggressive actions among individuals include broadside display, horning vegetation, jerk and lunge, head shake, leap, butt, and collide. Females can also be hostile against other females, sometimes biting them.

• The Blue sheep are herbivorous in nature and they mainly feed on dry grasses in the winter and the alpine grasses in the summer season. Blue sheep do display changes in their diet based on the season. Grasses are found to be the main source of diet for the blue sheep during the summer season but as the winter approaches their consumption of the grass reduces as it is very dry. In the winter season, the grass is substituted with shrubs and forbs. 

Reproduction in the Blue Sheeps 

• The blue sheep are known to reach sexual maturity between one to two years of age. Even though they reach sexual maturity at a very young age the males do not secure a mate until they are seven years old.

• The Blue sheep have different mating and birth seasons depending on where they live. Blue Sheep generally mate in the winter and give birth in the summer. Weather and diet are important factors in reproductive success. The gestation period of the female Blue Sheep is 160 days. Each pregnant female has only one child. Around six months of age, the offspring are weaned.

• Young males under a year old have 5 cm long straight horns and a woolly crown of hair. Male yearlings are around two-thirds the size of adult females. Their horns are roughly 15 cm long and lack lateral stripes. They attain adult female size at three years of age, but they still lack the stripe. Their horns are around 35 centimetres long. Males achieve complete maturity at 5-7 years of age, with horns reaching 45-55 cm in length.

Lifespan and Conservation Status 

The adults have a relatively long life span and it is determined by the growth rings on the horns. The maximum lifespan of the blue sheep in the wild is between 10 to 14 years. 

Because blue sheep are widely distributed and locally numerous, this condition is ideal for a well-managed management program that might include a sustainable yearly harvest for commercial purposes in some regions.

According to the IUCN Red List of the Threatened species, the Blue sheep are listed as the least concern in the world as they are abundantly found all across the world.

In China, the Blue Sheep is protected as a second-class species and is included in Schedule III of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The Blue Sheep population is estimated to be between 47,000 and 414,000 individuals. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies the Dwarf Blue Sheep as Endangered, and it is protected by Sichuan provincial legislation. In 1997, it was believed that there were just 200 Dwarf Blue sheep left and efforts were made to increase and protect these species. 

Predator

The life expectancy of a Blue Sheep is 11 to 15 years. Snow leopards, wolves, and common leopards are natural predators of the Sheep. On the Tibetan Plateau, the Snow Leopard's main prey is the Blue Sheep. When a prospective predator approaches, blue sheep freeze. Because of their superb concealment, they are frequently ignored as part of the landscape. If a predator spots them, the blue sheep will escape.

The Blue sheep are known to practice two antipredator strategies. They are almost near the cliffs and are always prepared to run towards the rugged slopes to avoid danger with a female blue sheep. The blue sheep also gives sharp alarm calls to warn other fellow members of the herds if they find predators such as the snow leopards. 

Conclusion

To sum up, Bharals have a short, thick coat that is slate grey in colour, with a blue shine on occasion. Their underparts and backs of legs are white, while their chests and fronts of legs are black. The grey back and white belly is separated by a charcoal-coloured line. The ears are tiny, and the nasal bridge is black. The horns are ridged on the top surface and present in both sexes. The horns in males grow vertically upwards and then turn sideways and are a little bit curved backwards and they could be compared to an upside-down moustache. In the female blue sheep, the horns are much shorter and straighter. Male bharals are considered to be slightly bigger than females.