Okhotsk Snow Sheep

lat.  Ovis nivicola alleni  

Okhotsk snow sheep is found in Okhotsk region of the Khabarovsk Territory (part of the Far East of Russia or Russian Siberia).
The grayish brown coat is accented by a small patch of light hair on the buttocks. The wooly winter coat is a light, milky coffee color. The fronts of the legs are dark chocolate brown, while the rear edges may have whitish markings. A dark band, which runs across the nose between the eyes and muzzle, contrasts greatly with the bright white rostrum. The ears are small and dark grey in color. The horns, found in both sexes, are considerably lighter than those of the related Bighorn sheep. The largest body size of all snow sheep is identical to Kamchatka snow sheep. It's large, brownish-grey in color, resembling the North-American Stone sheep of British Columbia. Adult rams can weigh more than 350 pounds.

Typical horns of the trophies average 35 inches/ 89 cm (38-40 inch/96,5-102 cm and rarely 41 inch/104 cm trophies can be taken) long in males, the horns curl backwards, downwards, and upwards around the ears, corkscrewing outwards in old males as the horns begin their second revolution. While the base of a male's horns may be up to 38 cm / 15 inches in circumference, those in females are significantly thinner and shorter, curving backwards in a sabre-like fashion.

The snow sheep is a well adapted mountain dweller - extremely agile and nimble, and able to move quickly over steep, uneven terrain. Within bachelor herds, a dominance hierarchy is formed based primarily on horn size. These hierarchies remain relatively stable, even in the breeding season, with larger males getting the majority of the mating rights. However,    if two males have approximately equal sized horns, the dominant/subordinate relationship is decided in combat. Facing each other from a distance, they run towards each other with heads lowered, rearing up and crashing their horns together in an attempt to throw their rival off balance. The majority of this subspecies are found in the Khabarovsk Region of the Russian Far East (Siberia).

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