Mouflon vignei" (or "orientalis") "arkal" and "O. v./o. bochariensis", grouped with two different clades of argali ("Ovis ammon"). The ancestral sheep is presumed to have had 60 chromosomes, as in goats ("Capra"). Mouflon and domestic sheep have 54 chromosomes, with three pairs (1+3, 2+8, 5+11) of ancestral acrocentric chromosomes joined to form bi-armed chromosomes. This is in contrast to the argali and urial, which have 56 and 58 chromosomes respectively. If the urial is as closely related to the mouflons as mitochondrial DNA indicates, then two chromosomes would need to have split during its evolution away from the mouflon (sub)species. 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