Muflon

Muflon (Ovis musimon)

Muflon lives in herds in the warmer parts of both Czech and Slovakia. Very good quality specimens can be found in the south of these countries.

The muflon looks very much like a goat. In the summer months it is ginger-brown colored, and the bottom part of the neck has black fur. White patches are found on the sides of the body. A light-colored mask on its face gets bigger with age. In the winter months its colors change to dark-brown. Muflon lambs in the summer season are yellow-brown, without the white patch, and in the winter change to a gingerish tint. Their ears are short. Muflon males reach a weight of around 25-45Kg, females 20-28Kg.

 

Development of Muflon horns

The young mouflon starts developing its horns at a very young age. At two months of age the first signs are already there. A one year old has horns of 25-35cm; in its second year it reaches a length of 50-60cm. In their 8th year the development of horns peaks and from then on it’s very minimal. From the layers on the horns one can clearly identify the owner’s age.

 

Environment

Mouflon live in leafy as well as mixed-tree forests surrounded with rocks. They love warm sunny open hills, and rocky bluffs. They also like meadows and fields. Because of their short legs, high snow is not to their liking. 

 

Lifestyle & Reproduction

Muflon lives in herds segregated from spring to autumn by gender. Rutting season takes place in November. In the winter both genders live together in larger herds, only to separate again in spring. After 22 weeks of gestation, females give birth to usually 1-2 young - usually between March and May. Muflon graze during the day in herds and it’s often a noisy affair. The herd moves along in straight lines, following each other, in already used paths.

 

Food

Muflon belong to a group of modest grass eaters. They also like to chew herbs, agricultural crops, young trees, tree rings, and bushes, which causes huge losses to forests. 

 

Predators

Lynx, wolf and stray dogs are the worst natural predators for muflon.

 

Significance of Muflon Hunting

Muflon is an attractive game for hunters as much it is currently a problem for game and forest management. The corect muflon population should be around 4000, but at the moment they are slightly over that number. Our strongest Muflon was hunted in Zidlochovice, and it scored 252.46 CIC points. This is also the world's strongest trophy.