The letter that concludes the first part of our story about the expedition for the Tibetan (Ladakh) argali belongs, as the reader remembers, to Hussein Galobchi. He is an experienced hunter, an expert on mountain sheep, but he is not a scientist. That is why he deserves deep respect for the truly scientific enthusiasm and interest when he analyzes and summarizes the facts of observation of this amazing sheep in the Pamirs and tries to identify its differences from the argali Marco Polo. He describes in detail the signs, the differences between the forms, forces us to bow to his truly scientific pedantry and a passionate desire to lift the veil of secrecy over this difficult issue.
The Tibetan (Ladakh) Argali is very close to the Pamir with the edge of its range, especially in the area of the Wakhan corridor, that is, near the Tajik-Afghan border. They can feel good there in the Small and Large Pamirs as well as on the territory of their giant range – the largest of all the argali phenotypes. We are impressed by the list of the largest mountain systems of the planet inhabited by them: the highest Himalayas, the second highest mountains in the world after them, Karakoram, Ladakh, the giant plateau of Tibet with its eastern provinces, reaching almost 105° east longitude in the east. In the north, the Tibetan Plateau is bordered by no less grandiose ridges-Kunlun, Altyntag and other mountain ranges and systems. And if the Pamirs are also added to this list! The list of the countries where the Tibetan argali lives is no less impressive: Pakistan (Gilgit, Baltistan), China (Xinjiang Uygur District, Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan), Nepal (Mustang), Bhutan, India (the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim), etc.The southern border of the distribution is outlined by the great Indian Brahmaputra River. It passes through the Himalayas in the west. These are the Karakoram Mountains and the western face of the Himalayas. It is bounded by the Tarim Basin and the Gobi Desert in the north. The ideas about the eastern border in the above-mentioned provinces of China are changeable, some of the supposed habitats of the Tibetan argali there need to be clarified.
Sometimes Damm and Franco in the" Atlas Caprinae of the World CIC " divide the Tibetan argali into the Tibetan and North Tibetan argali, based on some morphological indicators. However, the final point in this dispute can only be put by genetic research only. It concerns not only the Tibetan and North Tibetan argali, but also to any other, even if it is a small focus within the existence of the species. The North Tibetan argali is often identified with a subspecies described by the Russian traveler and scientist N. M. Przewalski Ovis ammon dalai-lamae Przewalski, 1888. Chinese scientists are inclined to this.
The morphological parameters of the Tibetan argali (from those that are known) are as follows: body length up to 193 cm, height at the withers up to 117 cm, trunk girth behind the shoulder blades 127 cm, weight up to 110 kg. It has to be noted that these measurements have been made from individuals extracted by the British during their colonial expansion in the Himalayas, Ladakh (India), that is, from the southern parts of the range. The size and weight of argali from the central and northern parts of this vast territory are unknown. It is likely that the argali that dwell there reach a much more impressive size and weight. Although 193 cm (body length) indicate that this is a very large argali! It should be noted that the morphological material, the extracted individuals of the Tibetan argali (including the North Tibetan), is inversely proportional to their huge range – extremely small.
There is very little to say according to the above-mentioned measurements of the body of Tibetan sheep, apart from the fact that they are scarce. The differences fit within the limits of the variability of most other geographical forms of argali. However, one characteristic parameter stands out – a very short tail. It doesn’t reach 8 cm (7.6) judging by the testimony of eyewitnesses. It confirms our idea about the severity of the habitats of the Tibetan argali. They inhabit the highest, vast and arid highlands of the Asian continent. The short tail confirms Allen's ecogeographic rule. The related forms of warm-blooded animals that lead a similar lifestyle, those live in colder climates have relatively smaller protruding body parts: ears, legs, tails, etc. In our case – kilometers up to the highest peaks of the world, where the general climatic situation, together with high-altitude desolation, rockiness, etc., adds its index to make it shorter.
The features of the color of the short-tailed Tibetan argali are a dark muzzle, especially in the south and east of its range, as well as a rather pronounced dark stripe running from the back of the head to the shoulder blades. Sometimes the dark mane is pronounced that gives those animals a very peculiar, exotic look. There is a darkening above the near-tail "mirror". Sheep have a magnificent white suspension-made of elongated winter wool on the chest, on the sides of the neck and throat. The crest on the back of the head, described by Lydekker (1900), is, apparently, nothing more than the regrown hair of the mane, and this also indicates the severity of the climate in the habitats of these animals. The most of males have a well expressed the white suspension of the throat and chest, there are also white spots on the muzzle, in the area of the nasal profile and on the shoulder blades, but not all animals have white spots. Argali from the northern parts of the Tibetan area are lighter than their southern relatives, what is reflected in different (according to topography) parts of the body.
Many Tibetan argali, especially males, are colored more contrastingly due to dark areas of the muzzle, body and limbs, adjacent to the white suspension of the throat, chest and a white spot in the scapular area. This color is characteristic of male argali habitat in the mountains of the Chinese province of Gansu. The white suspension of the breast can be light gray and even brownish. The mane on the back and neck in the form of a" crest " is more common for females and young males. The old males look lighter due to the white hair of the back, which creates the effect of gray hair, and the lightening of the muzzle. The mane of the North Tibetan argali can be lighter.
The horns of the Tibetan argali are massive, in a steep spiral, that doesn't exceed one turn, sometimes it’s even shorter and has brownish-yellow color, like most other argali. The record registered length is in Ladakh – 144.5 cm, with a girth at the base of 47.6 cm and a distance between the ends (camber) of 73.7 cm. The maximum weight of the horns is 12.3 kg.
We should especially note when talk about the Tibetan (Ladakh argali) that we talk about a generalized form, but there can be not only individual phenotypes, but also genotypes of argali, and the further research can give genetically different foci of different status – from population to subspecies. Divisions are possible into the northern and southern, as well as the extreme eastern groups. The differences between the "classic" Tibetan sheep from the plateau and the Karakoram argali that are close to the Pamirs are not excluded.
Let's try to draw a portrait of a Tibetan argali. This is a viable mountain sheep that has mastered the spaces of the highest mountains in the world and the giant plateau-like high-altitude parts of Tibet, including the northern one with independent mountain systems bordering and separating it. The life in conditions close to extreme severity has formed its compact body with a very short tail and the same short ears, with massive, but not very long horns in a steep spiral with a single curl.
The coloration is generally similar to other geographical forms of argali. It is darker in the south – in Ladakh, the Himalayas and in the East Chinese provinces. It applies to the limbs, a muzzle and darkening above the tail, on the sides, nape and neck. The thick suspension of long hair on the chest and neck (from white to light brown) is probably better expressed than in some other geographical forms. The North Tibetan argali can be lighter than the southern and eastern Tibetan ones. The relatively light weight is due to the small number of the samples and possible omissions associated with weighing the extracted animals in parts (i.e., rapid dehydration of the animal's meat during transportation).
Some young argali in the south, in the Himalayas, Ladakh and the eastern provinces of China, have a pronounced dark stripe on the nape and neck to the back of the head with a mane of standing long dark hair. Such mane may be characteristic of the northern representatives of the Tibetan argali. This indicates the severity of the occupied biotopes – longhair is characteristic of animals occupied the most severe habitats. The northern Tibetan populations are lighter and longer-haired than the southern ones, although in the mountains, the concept of north-south is relative, they can be compensated by the absolute heights of the argali habitat.
Undoubtedly that in the past it was a huge, very stable and numerous community that united many geographical groupings of argali. A fragmentation and progressive breaks (mosaic) of the area are characteristic of almost all species of wild sheep in our time.
The habitats of Tibetan argali are very diverse: these are the high-mountain slopes and intermountain valleys of the Himalayas, Karakoram, Ladakh, arid high-elevation areas of Tibet with a sharply continental climate. It is quite natural that argali, hardened in such conditions, are able to move in the north-west direction and reach not only the Karakoram, but also the Pamir mountains, where the pronounced phenotype of argali is widespread – the Pamir, or Marco Polo.
The Tibetan argali is listed in the Red Books of the countries where it lives. It's included in Appendix 1 of CITES.
It was important for us to find out if the above-mentioned reports about the presence of Tibetan argali in the Pamirs were justified. It is easy to guess that this issue cannot be resolved quickly and unambiguously. But we should have to start the research that could find the answer.
To the "Hot Spring" camp
It took the whole daylight day to get to the "Hot Spring" camp from Atobek Mulloerov , which was mentioned in a letter by Huseyn Galobchi and which was located at an altitude of over 4200 m above sea level. It was the dead night when we arrived at Zafar and Atotbek Bekmurodi. At dinner, the hospitable hosts talked about meetings with argali and hunting them with Hussein. They though that argali, so reminiscent of Tibetan ones, are "bighorns". Their horns are twisted compactly, short, homonymous with ends that do not diverge to the sides, like the Pamir argali. These animals habituated relatively close to the camp.
Atobek and his brother Zafar turned out to be very good experts not only of the argali of the Pamirs, but also of the entire local fauna of mammals and birds in general. None of our questions about Tibetan snow cocks or snow leopards remained without a detailed answer. At the same time, the brothers radiated cheerfulness and were surprisingly friendly. It is better to keep silent about the eastern hospitality of the mountaineers, since words are powerless to explain what it is!
In the morning, we stood near the car in full equipment and waited for the departure in search of the cherished argali.
The sun shone on the tops of the mountains, and they lit up with an indistinct light. A hot spring bubbled near the camp, or rather, right in the camp, and a shower room and a swimming pool were built on its basis.
There was a mountain of argali skulls, with horns of the most bizarre shapes and sizes on the bank of a half-frozen river just in the camp. They were so many of them that we could load KAMAZ.
Alpine slopes stretched away from the camp in all directions, crowned with amazingly beautiful red rocks in the blue twilight of the morning. The remains of a donkey recently killed by wolves recently laid near the shepherd's dwelling, located a little further away. Sometimes Argali came out on the mountain slopes above the camp.
It wasn’t easy.
Atobek and Zafar Bekmurodi and their team members Shodi Afzunov and Ali Sabzaliyev were not just professionals in their field, but also experts in mountain hunting of Pamir animals
At dawn on the first day, we found several herds of argali on the slopes of a large mountain valley. There were males - similar to argali, the search for which was the main goal of the expedition.
Argali climbed a mountain spur and looked down on us. They were in the rut, and we watched with interest the fierce fights of the males and the courtship for the females. Despite the fact that the herds were climbing up, their rapid intra-group activity associated with the rut season didn’t seem to stop for a minute. The males fought all the time, and all the animals showed animation and mobility. The males approached the females and flirted, pulled their muzzle to the rump of the chosen one. The females reacted differently, most of them retreated and ran away, but some were not at all averse to accept the courtship of males "crowned" with magnificent horns.
For the most part, the male argali were typical Marco Polo rams. But one large male that interested us had a different appearance than the classic Pamir argali. Its horns were wrapped in a steep "snail", and their ends did not diverge to the sides. As it turned out later, they (the horns) were thicker and heavier than the usual Marco Polo ram. Then we saw two more males in the same group, similar to the steep-horned one.
We ascended the next gorge opposite to the one where the sheep were and climbed the steep slope. And we felt the height there immediately: you took a few steps up, and there was nothing to breathe with! But then we got used to it and came out on the ridge.
The panorama that opened up was truly fantastic! There were spacious valleys in all directions of the world, as far as the eye could see. They were separated by powerful ridges with rocks smoothed by once mighty glaciers. Large dark bearded vultures circled over the valleys (these birds are lighter in Mongolia and Siberia).
Then the path ran along the Argali trail, traversing a steep mountain slope diagonally.
Our cameramen Oleg and Ali did not stop shooting despite the height and none of the group did not lag behind.
Small groups of young sheep suddenly appeared down the slope. A large, contrasting-colored argali Marco Polo, which grazed slowly among the stones was among them. Our "bighorn" went further, it had passed the crest of a steep ridge. We analyzed the situation and came to the conclusion that a herd of argali, pursued by us, descended into a neighboring gorge, and crossed the edge of a small mountain range. We made the same journey, and finally saw the very animals we were looking for.
The animals were grazing quietly at the bottom of a mountain gorge. They were about 750 m between us. It took several minutes to prepare for the shot. The extremely far distance, the height difference and the powerful wind in the gorge required a responsible approach to shooting.
The bullet threw up the ground a few tens of centimeters from the chosen "big-horned” after Eduard's shot. Argali rushed to the next slope as if stung. The wind was the reason for the miss. It turned out to be stronger at the bottom than expected – more than 15 m / sec! However, the miss didn’t become a reason for frustration – it was immediately clear that the distance was marginal, and the probability of hitting was quite small.
The hunt was over for that day.
It was getting late, and we went down into the gorge. The snow there was trampled by sheep and strewn with their droppings.
The morning of the next day – December 6 – turned out to be clear and frosty.
We met the first group of argali at 8 o'clock in the morning, at the entrance to the Mashala gorge. We climbed by the slope of the gorge and detected the male we were interested in and had chosen before. The process of approaching and preparing for the shot did not take much time, but the hunter was shooting at the argali were moving. the distance was 450 m, an accurate shot stopped the fleeing male. It bucked in a special way after the shot, lifted its croup and tucked its hind legs. Its powerful organism allowed it to run a few more tens of meters up, than it collapsed as if knocked down, turned over several times on the slope and remained to lay on the snow.
Everybody congratulated the hunter for a beautiful shot, the joy of a successful hunt was universal.
Then we rose to the argali and found that it was exactly the kind of bighorn we were looking for – thick, rounded horns were compactly twisted, their thickness and shape differed from the usual Pamir argali, and the white pendant on the chest resembled that of the Tibetan argali.
So, we got a chic specimen of the argali that interested us in the Mashaly gorge at 8: 30 in the morning, a few kilometers from the mountain hunting camp of Zafar and Atobek and with their direct participation at an altitude of 4400 m.
We transported the trophy and started weighing, measuring and describing it, which will be described in more detail in the next article.
To be continued...
Photo of Oleg Laptev
