Iranian red sheep

Status

Under the menace of disappearing.:Template:Wording - English; do you speak it? Included in the Red Book of the former USSR.Hunting has been forbidden since 1936. Khosrov State Reserve was created in 1958 but most important parts of the natural habitat were not included there. Included in the Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Habitat

The Iranian red sheep lives mostly in open rough terrain at medium or high altitudes, where they inhabit rocky hill country, lowland and highland steppes, and rocky semi-deserts, as well as grass covered slopes and alpine meadows.

These alpine sheep spend the summer at the highest elevations, up to six thousand meters, right below the permanent snow. In winter they move lower and may come into the valleys.

They live in small or larger herds, and in the summer the older males live singly or in separate groups. They may live up to 18 years.Southern border of the natural habitat crosses Arax. For the last decade they were met in Khosrov State Reserve.