The sheep are represented at the present time by several wild species, one of which is found in Northern India east of the indus, in the Punjab, and in the Sind; one in North America; and another in North Africa. The rest inhabit the high ground of Europe and Asia as far south as the Himalaya. These mountains, with the adjacent plateau of the Pamirs and the great ranges of central Asia, form the main home of the group. Wild sheep are of various types, some so much like the goats that it is difficult to draw a hard-and-fast line between them; while others, especially the Curly-horned Argalis, bighorns, Oorial, and Kamchatkas Wild Sheep, are unmistakable ovine in type. The wild original of the domesticated breeds of sheep is unknown; but the extreme differences between various breeds of tame sheep- as, for instance, between the smooth-coated, drooping-eared breed of nubia and the curly horned, woolly sheep of Dorsetshire- must not be allowed to divert the attention from the considerable likeness of habit which still remains between other breeds and the wild species. Domesticated sheep which live on hills and mountains are still inclined to seek the highest ground at night. The rams fight as the wild rams do, and many of them display activity and powers of climbing and of finding a living on barren ground scarcely less remarkable than in the wild races. The apparent absence of wool in the latter does not indicate so great a difference as might be thought. the domesticated sheep have been bred by artificial selection for unnumbered ages in order to produce wool. it is said that in some of the wild breeds there is an under-fur which will "felt" like wool. Most of the species are short-tailed animals, but this is not the case with the Barbary wild sheep.
Wild sheep are mainly mountain-living animals or frequenters of high ground. they generally. although not always, frequent less rugged country than that affected by the wild goats, and some are found t quite low levels. the altitude at which other wild sheep are found is, however, very great; on the pamirs it reaches 20,000 feet. here the country is quite open.
