Armenian mouflon Armenian mouflon The Armenian mouflon (, "haykakan muflon"; , "Qutch-e armani"), also known as the Armenian sheep, Armenian wild sheep, Armenian red sheep, or trans-Caucasian sheep ("Ovis orientalis gmelini") is an endangered subspecies of mouflon endemic to Iran, Armenia, and Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan). The Armenian mouflon was first described in 1840 by Edward Blyth, who equated it with the "Orientalische Schaaf" (Oriental sheep) described by Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin in 1774. "O. o. gmelini" is found in northwestern Iran. Armenian mouflons were transferred to Kabudan (Kaboodan) Island in Lake Urmia in 1895 and 1906 by one of the governors of Azerbaijan. A
European mouflon over 1,000 metres, unlike deer which rely mainly on smell. Despite their small size and weight, mouflon are very hard to kill and have to be hunted with weapons of sufficiently high calibre in order to ensure successful first-time kills. In Germany the hunting of mouflon is governed by hunting rights in accordance with the Federal Hunting Act. In the 2015/16 hunting season the bag in Germany amounted to 8,000 mouflon (in 2010/11 there were 7,270), of which 3,000 were shot in Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia alone, 38% of the total cull. The numbers shot, unlike other huntable wild animals, have