Ovis karelini

 Tian Shan Argali, once the Tianshan subspecies of Argali.

The Tianshan argali is generally considered to be the Tianshan subspecies of the argali (Ovis ammon). The Ungulate Taxonomy co-authored by British scholar Peter Grubb and Australian scholar Colin Groves The 2019 edition of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the 2021 China National List of Key Protected Wildlife also adopt this statement, treating it as an independent species. However, as of February 2021, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and most data will still consider it as a subspecies of argali.

The Tianshan argali used to cross wide valleys, rivers, and even railway tracks, with seasonal migrations of up to 70 kilometers. Usually these migrations were to avoid deep snow in high altitude areas. Severe droughts and extreme heat can also trigger movements, such as in the semi-desert Khargan Mountains. Seasonal movements can also be caused by human factors, such as the presence of livestock and related human disturbance. The Tianshan argali herds are usually small. In the Aksu-Djabagly Nature Reserve, there are 2-37 in spring and 2-52 in summer. The average annual group size for females is 15.5 and for males 7.5. Group sizes elsewhere are usually 2-6 animals.

The Tien Shan argali is primarily a herbivore. In the semi-desert Kalkan Mountains, stomach contents are up to 90% grass (fescue) in winter, 70% in summer, and 50% in autumn. The other 50% in summer consists of ephedra. Generally, grasses and sedges dominate the winter diet, but the diet is higher in weeds in spring and summer.

The Tien Shan argali mates in late autumn and early winter, usually lasting a month, from mid-October to mid-November. Environmental factors that affect conception are that up to 34% of females do not conceive after a drought in the previous summer. The gestation period is 155-160 days, and lambs are born in late March to early April of the following year. Usually one lamb is born per litter, but up to 13% are twins, and occasionally triplets. The ratio of female lambs varies from 0.22 in the high-altitude Terskey Alatau to 0.75 in the semi-desert Kalka Mountains. The young are very adaptable to the environment. They can stand up and feed as soon as their hair dries after birth. They can move with the female after a few hours. They are usually weaned after 4 months, and the lactation period lasts about half a year. Females reach sexual maturity at 2 years old and males at 5 years old.

Previously, there was little consensus on the abundance of Tianshan argali in Kyrgyzstan. Luschekina counted 565 argali in the western Kokshalatau Mountains in the summer of 1993. Based on these counts plus earlier, unpublished counts, she extrapolated an estimate of 6,000 in northeastern Kyrgyzstan. Magomedov et al. surveyed a 190 km transect in a similar area in spring 2002 and counted 717 argali. Weinberg et al. 1997 reported "no more than 2,000 argali" in the Tien Shan (which may include parts of Kazakhstan). Weinberg et al. 1997 considered the Tien Shan argali to be declining. Fedosenko and Blank 2005 reported an estimate of 5,000 Tien Shan argali in Kyrgyzstan, but did not cite sources or methods. Extrapolating from populations in Aksay, Alpa-Nalyn, Jet-Ogus, and Issyk-Kul oblasts, a Kyrgyz government survey estimated that there were about 15,900 Tien Shan argali in 2006, slightly lower than in previous years and down from an estimate of 26,000 in 2003.

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) 2020 ver3.1 - Near Threatened (NT).

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) 2020 ver3.1 - Near Threatened (NT). left;"> Listed in Appendix I, II and III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 2019 Edition Appendix II.

Listed in China's National List of Key Protected Wildlife (February 5, 2021) Level II.

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Found in northeastern Uzbekistan, northern Kyrgyzstan, southeastern Kazakhstan and northwestern China. It is found on the northern side of the Tien Shan Mountains in northeastern Kyrgyzstan and southeastern Kazakhstan, where it occupies a variety of habitats from high mountains to desert areas. Its western border is in the Talasskiya Alatau east of Shymkent, from where it extends eastwards to Lake Issyk-Kul north of the Naryn River. It also extends to the Kungey Alatau and Zaili Alatau north of Lake Issyk-Kul. Further east it is found in the Ketmen Mountains bordering China, and further north in the Chu-Ili low mountains northwest of Almaty and the Dzungarian Alatau east of Taldy-Kurgan. The Tianshan argali is also found in the low mountains south and southeast of Lake Balkhash (Kyskhash, Arganaty, Arkharly, Dzhambul and Baigora mountains).
The Tienshan argali is found in different habitats, ranging from the lowland semi-deserts of the Kalkan Mountains to typical highland mountain s

The male head and body length is 158-190 cm. The Tianshan argali living in the central Tianshan Mountains and Junggar Alatau is larger than that in the semi-desert area and the western Tianshan Mountains. Shoulder height is 110 cm, and the sub-adult male (2-3,5 years old) is 103-112 cm; chest circumference is 118-133 m; weight is 97-152 kg (male), 47-66 kg (female); horn length is 114-16 cm (male), 26-34 cm (female); height is 129 cm; ear length is 11-12 cm (male); tail averages 12 cm (male); karyotype: 2n=56, the same as all other argali.
The overall fur color in winter is gray, gray-brown and light brown in males; the overall body color in summer is bright red to dirty brown. The lower body is light, beige or yellow-white. The legs are completely white; beige in winter. In winter, there is a distinct stripe on the side of the body, separating the dark body hair from the light belly hair. The head is light brown in winter; in males in mid-September, the forehead, sides and front of