Urial

Urial are medium-sized wild sheep with large sickle-shaped horns; they are considered a close relative to the argali or Marco Polo sheep, but are smaller and are found at lower elevations. Urial face a number of very serious threats to their continuing survival. Because they are found in lower elevations, including mountain foothill regions, populations compete directly with livestock for seasonal grazing areas, and because of higher human densities in these lower elevations, indiscriminate hunting pressure has caused dramatic declines in urial numbers.

The Ladakh urial was once a common member of the fauna of northern Pakistan. Its range encompassed most of the Western Himalayas (Himalayan/Karakoram/Hindu Kush mountain region) on rolling slopes at middle elevations, from as low as 1,500 m to above treeline.

About this hunt

The Urial, also known as the Arkars or Shapo, is a subspecies group of the wild sheep. Noticeable features are the reddish-brown long fur that fades during winter, males are characterized by a black ruff stretching from the neck to the chest and large horns. Urial males have large horns, curling outwards from the top of the head turning in to end somewhere behind the head. The horns of the males may be up to 100 cm (39 in) long. The shoulder height of an adult male Urial is between 80 and 90 cm (31 and 35 in). Females have slender upward curving horns about 12.7cm(5in) long. Trophy hunters consider 28-30 inches to be a very good trophy.