Wild Sheep of Sardinia (175/268)

Wild Sheep of Sardinia (175/268)

Mouflons have lived on Sardinia for at least 6000 years. Neolithic cavemen probably brought the shy wild sheep from Asia Minor to the Iberian peninsula. To this day, mouflons show no sign of becoming domesticated, nor do they have any direct tame relatives. These wild sheep with their curlicue horns were probably prized mostly for their ritual use - just as the fallow deer, which followed a similar path. They are also thought to have been introduced to the western Mediterranean as sacrificial animals. While a number of mouflon populations survived on the isle of Asinara and were reintroduced to the mainland from Sardinia in the 20th century, they are now endangered on the island. The last original European habitat is the Sardinian Gennargentu National Park, where they are carefully watched over by wildlife biologists studying the heretofore unknown behavior of these bovids. There is hardly any data about them, especially about their rut in autumn, which coincides with that of the fallow deer. For mating season holds the key to the survival of the species. A filmic journey from Sardinia to Asinara, with breathtaking landscapes and fascinating insights into the conservationists' struggle against time to save the endangered mouflon.

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