Argali
Ovis ammon (Linnaeus, 1758)
The argali (Ovis ammon) is a large mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Caprini, within the order Artiodactyla. It is a terrestrial, cathemeral herbivore that lives in forest and shrubland habitats, with an adult body mass of 180 kg.
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Quick facts about the argali
Gestation lasts 170 days, with one litter per year and 1.2 young per litter; sexual maturity is reached at 1.7 years. The IUCN Red List assesses the argali as Near Threatened, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 160 kg – 180 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 15.9 years – 16.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forest, shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 150 days – 170 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 13.2 months – 2.25 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the argali
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the argali live?
Not recorded
What is the argali?
The argali (Ovis ammon), also known as the mountain sheep, is the largest species of wild sheep. It is native to the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains.
From the Wikipedia article “Argali” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Argali&oldid=1380589264), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the argali endangered?
The argali is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the argali classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusOvis
- SpeciesOvis ammon (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Capra ammon, Ovis ammon ammon, Ovis ammon comosa, Ovis ammon typica
Other names and names in other languages (66)
- Altai argaliEnglish
- Altai argaliEnglish
- AmmonEnglish
- Argali, mouflonEnglish
- ArgaliformEnglish
- ArkharEnglish
- Asian wild sheepEnglish
- Giant sheepEnglish
- Mountain sheepEnglish
- North China argaliEnglish
- Shansi argaliEnglish
- Wild sheepEnglish
- Wild sheepEnglish
- ArgalieAfrikaans
- أرغلArabic
- أرغل شانسيArabic
- خروف الجبلArabic
- خروف بريArabic
- أرغل شمال الصينArabic
- གཉནTibetan
- གཉན།Tibetan
- MuflonDanish
- Altai-WildschafGerman
- NordchinawildschafGerman
- Nordchinesischer ArgaliGerman
- Nordchinesisches WildschafGerman
- RiesenwildschafGerman
- Αγριοπρόβατο ή ΑρχάρGreek
- ArgaloEsperanto
- ArgalíSpanish
- Muflón ArgalSpanish
- غرم (جانور)Persian
- argaaliFinnish
- mouflonFrench
- Mouflon d'AsieFrench
- Mouflon d'EurasieFrench
- Mouflon de ChineFrench
- Mouflon VraiFrench
- Ovis ammonFrench
- כבש ארגאליHebrew
- NyanHindi
- Argali juhHungarian
- ՄուֆլոնArmenian
- Pecora selvatica asiaticaItalian
- アルガリJapanese
- არხარიGeorgian
- АрқарKazakh
- 아르갈리Korean
- Kalninis avinasLithuanian
- АргальMongolian
- Argali KhonyMongolian
- ИртӓгӓWestern Mari
- ArgalisauNorwegian Bokmål
- ShanxiargaliNorwegian Bokmål
- moeflonDutch
- owca dzikaPolish
- ارگالیWestern Panjabi
- АрхарRussian
- АргалиRussian
- Алтайский горный баранRussian
- argalifårSwedish
- ئارقارUyghur
- آرگالیUrdu
- 盘羊Chinese
- 盤羊Chinese
- 阿尔泰盘羊Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the argali
Other species in the same genus Ovis.
Bighorn sheep
Ovis canadensis
Urial
Ovis vignei
Thin-horn
Ovis dalli
Snow sheep
Ovis nivicola
Mouflon
Ovis gmelini
Ewe
Ovis aries
CompareArgali vs Bighorn sheepArgali vs UrialArgali vs Thin-hornArgali vs Snow sheep
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the argali?
The argali is a large mammal in the family Bovidae and the genus Ovis, within the order Artiodactyla.
How heavy is an argali?
The argali has a representative adult body mass of 180 kg.
What does the argali eat?
The argali is a herbivore.
What habitats does the argali live in?
The argali lives in forest and shrubland habitats and has a terrestrial lifestyle.
Is the argali endangered?
No. The argali is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does an argali live?
The argali has a lifespan of 15.9 years, and our sources report values up to 16.8 years.
How many young does an argali have?
The argali has 1.2 young per litter and one litter per year, after a gestation period of 170 days.
Who named the argali and when?
The argali's scientific name, Ovis ammon, carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Argali (Ovis ammon). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/argali
“Argali (Ovis ammon).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/argali.
@misc{argali_2026,
title = {Argali (Ovis ammon)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/argali},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}