View source for Bharal

{{Short description|Species of wild sheep native to the Himalayas}}
{{redirect|Blue Sheep|the "blue" public house named the Blue Sheep|pubs and inns in Grantham}}
{{Redirect|Naur|the Danish computer scientist|Peter Naur}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Bharal - Shreeram M V - Kibber, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India.jpg
| image_caption = Male bharal in [[Spiti Valley]]
| image2 = Bharal_Female_from_North_Sikkim_India_16.10.2019.jpg
| image2_caption = Female bharal in [[North Sikkim]]
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Harris, R.B. |year=2014 |title=''Pseudois nayaur'' |page=e.T61513537A64313015 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T61513537A64313015.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Pseudois
| parent_authority = [[Brian Houghton Hodgson|Hodgson]], 1846
| species = nayaur
| authority = (Hodgson, 1833)
| synonyms = ''Pseudois schaeferi'' <small>[[Theodor Haltenorth|Haltenorth]], 1963</small>
''Pseudois nayaur schaeferi''
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
| title = <small>Species synonymy</small><ref name="Wang">{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=X.M. |last2=Hoffmann |first2=R.S. |year=1987 |title=''Pseudois nayaur'' and ''Pseudois schaeferi'' |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=278 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.2307/3503993 |jstor=3503993|doi-access=free }}</ref>
| ''[[Ovis]] nayaur'' <br/><small>(Hodgson, 1833)</small>
| ''Ovis nahoor'' <br/><small>(Hodgson, 1835)</small>
| ''Ovis burrhel'' <br/><small>([[Edward Blyth|Blyth]], 1840)</small>
| ''Ovis nahura'' <br/><small>([[John Edward Gray|J.E. Gray]], 1840)</small>
| ''Ovis barhal'' <br/><small>(Hodgson, 1846)</small>
| ''Ovis burhel'' <br/><small>(J.E. Gray, 1833)</small>
}}
| range_map = Distribution map of Blue sheep (Bharal).png
| range_map_caption = Distribution of blue sheep; dwarf blue sheep range in darker blue
}}
The '''bharal''' ('''''Pseudois nayaur'''''), also called the '''blue sheep''', is a [[Caprinae|caprine]] native to the high [[Himalayas]]. It is the [[monotypic taxon|only member]] of the genus '''''Pseudois'''.''<ref name=":0">{{Cite mdd|title=''Pseudois nayaur'' (Hodgson, 1833)|id=1006211|access-date=2021-08-28}}</ref> It occurs in [[India]], [[Bhutan]], [[China]] (in [[Gansu]], [[Ningxia]], [[Sichuan]], [[Tibet]], and [[Inner Mongolia]]), [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]], and [[Pakistan]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> The [[Helan Mountains]] of Ningxia have the highest concentration of bharal in the world, with 15 bharals per km<sup>2</sup> and 30,000 in total.
Its native names include ''yanyang'' (岩羊) in [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], ''bharal'', ''barhal'', ''bharar'', and ''bharut'' in [[Hindi]], ''na'' or ''sna'' in Tibetan and [[Ladakh]], ''nabo'' in [[Spiti valley|Spitian]], ''naur'' in [[Nepali language|Nepali]] and ''na'' or ''gnao'' in Bhutan.<ref>Lydekker, R. (1900). ''The great and small game of India, Burma and Tibet'', p 93,</ref>
The bharal was also the focus of [[George Schaller]] and [[Peter Matthiessen]]'s expedition to Nepal in 1973. Their personal experiences are well documented by Matthiessen in his book, ''The Snow Leopard''. The bharal is a major prey of the [[snow leopard]].
==Description==
These medium-sized caprids are {{convert|115|to|165|cm|in|abbr=on}} long along the head-and-body, with a tail of {{convert|10|to|20|cm|in|abbr=on}}. They stand {{convert|69|to|91|cm|in|abbr=on}} high at the shoulder. Body mass can range from {{convert|35|to|75|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. Males are slightly larger than females. Dense coat is slate grey in colour, sometimes with a bluish sheen. The underparts and backs of the legs are white, while the chest and fronts of the legs are black. Separating the grey back and white belly is a charcoal-colored stripe. The ears are small, and the bridge of the nose is dark. The horns are found in both sexes and are ridged on the upper surface. In males, they grow upwards, then turn sideways and curve backward, looking somewhat like an upside-down mustache. They may grow to a length of {{convert|80|cm|in|abbr=on}}. In females, the horns are much shorter and straighter, growing up to {{convert|20|cm|in|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=UU>[http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Pseudois_nayaur.html Bharal, Himalayan blue sheep] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406014020/http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Pseudois_nayaur.html |date=2015-04-06 }}. Ultimateungulate.com. Retrieved on 2012-08-23.</ref><ref>Smith, A. T., Xie, Y. (eds.) (2008) [https://books.google.com/books?id=ka-9f68nPT4C ''A Guide to the Mammals of China'']. Princeton University Press, Princeton Oxfordshire {{ISBN|0691099847}}.</ref>
==Taxonomy and evolution==
A study working from mitochondrial DNA suggested that the Bharal is more closely related to the goats (''Capra sp.'') than to the domestic sheep.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Pere |last1=Bover |first2=Bastien |last2=Llamas |first3=Kieren J. |last3=Mitchell |first4=Vicki A. |last4=Thomson |first5=Josep Antoni |last5=Alcover |first6=Carles |last6=Lalueza-Fox |first7=Alan |last7=Cooper |first8=Joan |last8=Pons |title=Unraveling the phylogenetic relationships of the extinct bovid ''Myotragus balearicus'' Bate 1909 from the Balearic Islands |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=215 |year=2019 |pages=185–195 |issn=0277-3791 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.05.005 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379118306929}}</ref>
The Bharal is split into three subspecies:
*Chinese blue sheep, ''Pseudois nayaur szechuanensis''
*Himalayan blue sheep, ''P. n. nayaur''
*Helan Shan blue sheep, ''P. n.'' ssp.
=== Dwarf blue sheep ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-S-06-24-35, Tibetexpedition, Erlegter Blauschafwidder.jpg|thumb|The dwarf blue sheep, a unique variant of bharal formerly thought to be a distinct species or subspecies]]
The '''dwarf blue sheep''' or '''dwarf bharal''' (formerly described as ''Pseudois schaeferi''), also known as '''''rong-na''''' in [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]], was an alleged species of ''Pseudois'' [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Sichuan]]-[[Tibet]] in China. It apparently inhabited low, arid, grassy slopes of the upper [[Yangtze]] gorge in Batang County of the [[Sichuan Province]], and a small part of the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]]. It was recorded as differing from the bharal primarily in size, with adult males weighing around {{cvt|35|kg}} (half as much as the bharal), less [[sexual dimorphism]] occurring in the species, and females of the two species being very similar. Its coat was described as a steely grey with a silvery sheen, with darker general colouration than the bharal, and the horns of the male were smaller, thinner and more upright, with no inward curl. There were only 200 individuals estimated to be alive in 2000, which prompted the [[IUCN Red List|IUCN]] (classifying it as a subspecies of ''P. nayaur'', as ''P. n. schaeferi'') classified it as [[Endangered species|Endangered]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Tan |first1=Shuai |last2=Zou |first2=Dandan |last3=Tang |first3=Lei |last4=Wang |first4=Gaochao |last5=Peng |first5=Quekun |last6=Zeng |first6=Bo |last7=Zhang |first7=Chen |last8=Zou |first8=Fangdong |date=2012-06-01 |title=Molecular evidence for the subspecific differentiation of blue sheep (''Pseudois nayaur'') and polyphyletic origin of dwarf blue sheep (''Pseudois schaeferi'') |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-012-9667-4 |journal=Genetica |language=en |volume=140 |issue=4 |pages=159–167 |doi=10.1007/s10709-012-9667-4 |pmid=22821360 |s2cid=17673293 |issn=1573-6857}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite iucn|author=Huffman, B. |author2= Harris, R. |name-list-style=amp |year=2014|title= ''Pseudois nayaur'' ssp. ''schaeferi'' |page= e.T18535A64313668 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T18535A64313668.en|access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref>
However, a 2012 genetic analysis of Chinese bharal found no indication that it was either a distinct species or subspecies, instead finding to be a morphologically distinct variant of ''P''. ''n. szechuanensis''. The [[American Society of Mammalogists]] also follows these results, considering ''P. schaeferi'' to be conspecific with ''P. nayaur''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
==Behaviour and ecology==
[[File:Fock of Bharal sheep grazing.jpg|thumb|Herd of bharal in Ladakh]]
[[File:Blue sheep Pseudois nayaur.JPG|thumb|Bharal in Lingti Valley, [[Himachal Pradesh]]]]
[[File:A kid blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur).JPG|thumb|A kid blue sheep]]
[[File:Blue sheep in Manaslu.jpg|thumb|Blue sheep in Manaslu, Nepal]]
Bharal are active throughout the day, alternating between feeding and resting on the grassy mountain slopes. Due to their excellent camouflage and the absence of cover in their environment, bharal remain motionless when approached. Once they have been noticed, however, they scamper up to the precipitous cliffs, where they once again freeze, using camouflage to blend into the rock face. Population densities in Nepal were found to be 0.9–2.7 animals per km<sup>2</sup>, increasing to a maximum of 10 animals in the winter, as herds congregate in valleys.<ref name= UU/>
Bharal are mainly grazers, but during times of scarcity of grass, they switch to browsers, eating forbs and shrubs.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Suryawanshi |first=K. |author2=Bhatnagar, Y.V. |author3=Mishra, C. |title=Why Should a Grazer Browse? Livestock impact on winter resource use by bharal ''Pseudois nayaur'' |pmid=19784849 |journal=Oecologia |year=2010 |volume=162 |issue=2 |pages=453–462 |doi=10.1007/s00442-009-1467-x|bibcode=2010Oecol.162..453S |s2cid=1486413 }}</ref> A high degree of diet overlap between livestock (especially donkeys) and bharal, together with density-dependent forage limitation, results in resource competition and a decline in bharal density.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00885.x |year=2004 |title=Competition between domestic livestock and wild bharal ''Pseudois nayaur'' in the Indian Trans-Himalaya |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology |volume=41 |pages=344–354 |last1=Mishra |first1=C. |last2=Van Wieren |first2=S. E. |last3=Ketner |first3=Pieter |last4=Heitkonig |first4=Ignas M. A. |last5=Prins |first5=Herbert H. T. |issue=2 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2004JApEc..41..344M }}</ref> Where they overlap, they are the favored prey of [[snow leopard]]s, [[Himalayan wolves]], and [[leopard]]s, with a few lambs falling prey to [[fox]]es or [[eagle]]s.<ref name= UU/>
===Rutting behaviour===
The [[rut (mammalian reproduction)|rutting]] of the bharal starts towards late November and continues until mid-January. During the rut, male bharal use multiple strategies for mating, namely tending, blocking, and coursing.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lovari |first=Sandro |author2=Som Ale |title=Are there multiple mating strategies in the blue sheep? |pmid=11255000 |journal=Behavioural Processes |year=2001 |volume=53 |pages=131–135 |doi=10.1016/S0376-6357(00)00134-0 |issue=1–2 |s2cid=7587862}}</ref> Their lambs are born in late June and July.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
==Threats==
The bharal is categorised as [[Least Concern]] by the [[IUCN|International Union for Conservation of Nature]]. The population faces threats - poaching for meat and competition with livestock. Poaching, however, is uncommon due to the unsuitable conditions of its habitat. Similarly, livestock do not generally frequent the mountainous regions where bharal occur; even if they do coexist, no notable detrimental effect on the bharal has been observed.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />
==Relationship with humans==
Many Buddhist monasteries protect the bharal found around them, but lately,{{when|date=January 2024}} issues of crop damage caused by bharal have started to arise in areas such as the [[Spiti Valley]].{{cn|date=January 2024}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0952836903004394 |title=Habitat segregation between sympatric Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya |year=2004 |last1=Namgail |first1=Tsewang |last2=Fox |first2=Joseph L. |last3=Bhatnagar |first3=Yash Veer |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=262 |pages=57–63 |s2cid=59067250}}
* Namgail, T., van Wieren, S.E., Mishra, C. & Prins, H.H.T. (2010). Multi-spatial co-distribution of the endangered Ladakh urial and blue sheep in the arid Trans-Himalayan Mountains. Journal of Arid Environments, 74:1162-1169.
* Namgail, T., Mishra, C., de Jong, C. B., van Wieren, S.E. & Prins, H.H.T. (2009). Effects of herbivore species richness on blue sheep niche dynamics and distribution in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Diversity and Distributions, 15:940-947.
* {{cite thesis |url=https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/3567/MPhil_Thesis.pdf |hdl=10535/3567 |title=Habitat selection and ecological separation between sympatric Tibetan argali and blue sheep in northern India |last1=Namgail |first1=Tsewang |date=December 2001 |publisher=University of Tromso}}
* {{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215651350|title=Winter Habitat Partitioning between Asiatic Ibex and Blue Sheep in Ladakh, Northern India|last1=Namgail|first1=Tsewang|journal=Journal of Mountain Ecology|date=January 2006|pages=7–13|volume=8|s2cid=54699112}}
* {{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232015457 |jstor=44521948 |title=Wild sheep and livestock in Nepal Trans-Himalaya: Coexistence or competition? |last1=Shrestha |first1=Rinjan |last2=Wegge |first2=PER |journal=Environmental Conservation |year=2008 |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=125–136 |doi=10.1017/S0376892908004724 |bibcode=2008EnvCo..35..125S |s2cid=58913300 }}
* {{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224953496 |title=Habitat relationships between wild and domestic ungulates in Nepalese Trans-Himalaya |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |issue=6 |pages=914–925 |date=June 2008 |doi=10.1016/j.jaridenv.2007.12.002 |last1=Shrestha |first1=Rinjan |last2=Wegge |first2=Per|volume=72|bibcode=2008JArEn..72..914S }}
* Shrestha, R., Wegge, P. & Koirala, R. A. (2005). Summer diets of wild and domestic ungulates in Nepal Himalaya. Journal of Zoology (London), 266: 111 – 119.
==External links==
*{{Commons-inline}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150406014020/http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Pseudois_nayaur.html Photos and further information]
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pseudois_nayaur.html Bharal] at ''Animal Diversity Web''
{{Artiodactyla|R.3}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q465019}}
[[Category:Caprids]]
[[Category:Mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Tibet| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Brian Houghton Hodgson]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1833]]
[[Category:Mammals of Nepal]]