.Ejka

gallery

I just got back from the ZOO in Kraków with some new beautiful photos of its residents. This is my brother's favorite animal - ARUI - also called Aoudad or The Barbary Sheep (Owca grzywiasta in Polish). Wikipedia says: "Arui is a species of Caprinae (goat-antelope) found in rocky mountains in North Africa. Although it is rare in its native North Africa, it has been introduced to North America, southern Europe and elsewhere. Barbary Sheep stand 80 to 100 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh 40 to 140 kg. They are a sandy-brown color, darkening with age, with a slightly lighter underbelly and a darker line on the back. Upperparts and outer legs are uniform reddish-brown or grayish-brown. There is some shaggy hair on the throat (extending down to the chest in males) and a sparse "mane". Their horns have a triangular cross section. The horns curve outwards, backwards then inwards, and reach up to 50 cm. The horns are smooth, but wrinkled at the base. Scientists say that the horns can grow to be about six inches long. Barbary Sheep are found in arid mountainous areas of the Sahara where they graze and browse all available plants -- grass, bushes, lichen and acacia. They obtain all their moisture from food, but if water is available they drink and wallow in it. Barbary Sheep are crepuscular, active in the early morning and late afternoon, resting in the heat of the day. They are very agile and can jump over two metres from a stand-still. Barbary Sheep are usually solitary, and freeze in the presence of danger. Their main predators in North Africa are leopards and caracals. Barbary sheep are found in Mauritania, Morocco, southern Algeria, northwest Chad and Sudan, and were introduced into southeastern Spain and southwestern United States (parts of Texas, New Mexico, California) and Mexico and in some parts of Africa."