Scientific Name: Pseudois nayaur

Conservation Status:  IUCN Red List status: Least Concern: Wild (Life) Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

The Blue sheep or Bharal is a   medium-sized bovid native to the high Himalayas , It lives in the high mountains  of Asia (China, India , Pakistan ,  Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Myanmar)

Distribution in India

•  Himachal Pradesh – Lahul and Spiti
• Ladakh – Zanskar and Nubra regions , Hemis National Park
• Uttarakhand – Govind Pasu Vihar, Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary, Badrinath Range, Nanda Devi National Park
• Eastern Himalayas – Sikkim and western Arunachal Pradesh

Characteristics

• Displays  morphological characters of both sheep and goat
• Dense coat is slate grey in colour, sometimes with a bluish sheen on the dorsal side; underparts and knees are white. Underside of neck and front of all four legs are black, giving a dull and inconspicuous colouring which blends with the terrain and is difficult to spot.
• Mixed feeder – grasses , herbs , shrubs and fleshy roots
• Rutting (annual mating season ) November to end of January, gestation 150-160 days. Normally gives birth to a single offspring, but twinning is not uncommon.
•  The horns are found in both sexes, the horns are shorter in females.
• Shows limited altitudinal migration
• Group size is small and varies according to season and habitat quality. The average group size is 11, maximum size of over 200
• Male bharals show little interest in females until the females are in estrus,
• Aggressive behaviours include broadside display, horning vegetation, jerking, lunging, head shakes, jumping, butt, and clashes among the members.