Know Before You Go

The urial, a true sheep, has large horns similar to the bighorn sheep in North America. They use these horns in battles for dominance, and the size generally determines the individual’s rank in the herd. The urial is considered to be the ancestor of today’s domestic sheep.

Urials are found lower in the mountains than bharals, rarely traveling above 14,000 feet. They often live below treeline, and in much of their range they overlap with domestic livestock and compete for grasses. Perhaps because of this, their population is dropping, and they are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. In Ladakh, they are mainly found along the banks of the Indus River and in Shyok-Nubra valley.