Mouflon Mouflon The mouflon ("Ovis orientalis orientalis" group) is a subspecies group of the wild sheep ("Ovis orientalis"). Populations of "O. orientalis" can be partitioned into the mouflons ("orientalis" group) and the urials ("vignei" group). The mouflon is thought to be the ancestor for all modern domestic sheep breeds. The wild sheep of Corsica were locally called "mufro" (male) and "mufra" (female). The French naturalist Buffon (1707–1788) rendered this in French as "". Mouflon sheep have reddish to dark brown, short-haired coats with dark back stripes and black ventral areas and light-colored saddle patches. The males are horned; some females are
European mouflon through their nostrils. Often, the warning call is preceded by a nervous stomping of the front feet. The warning call is quiet when a mouflon is only slightly disturbed, but becomes much louder as danger threatens. A herd whose leader makes this sound, flees immediately. If the sound is made by another animal in the herd, the rest begin to take defensive action, but continue to wait for the reaction of the leader.. Rams make a rattling and snarling sound when chasing rutting ewes. The clashing of horns is one of the most familiar sounds of the mouflon. It is