Mouflon sheep. Mouflon have been introduced as game animals into Spieden Island in Washington state, and into the Hawaiian islands of Lanai and Hawaii where they have become a problematic invasive species. A small population escaped from an animal enclosure owned by Thomas Watson, Jr. on the island of North Haven, Maine in the 1990s and still survives there. Their normal habitats are steep mountainous woods near tree lines. In winter, they migrate to lower altitudes. The scientific classification of the mouflon is disputed. Five subspecies of mouflon are distinguished by MSW3: The eastern and the European mouflon often appear in
European Endangered Species Programme loss of genetic variability, and accumulation of deleterious mutations. These problems can easily result in loss of original wild traits, and in the expression of heritable abnormalities. If what was once a pure, wild population of animals deteriorates through generations of uncontrolled breeding into inferior or partially domesticated stock, then the animals are no longer suitable for any conservation effort, and the zoos have failed to perform an important educational task. The effects of breeding captive populations of wild animals over periods of many generations have been well studied. Based on these studies and genetic theory, guidelines for breeding such