You’ve probably seen it on coins and stamps: the Cyprus mouflon, the wild sheep, is a common symbol for the island. Though mouflons are found throughout the Mediterranean, the Cyprus mouflon (‘Ovis gmelini ophion’) lives only here and is Cyprus’s largest endemic mammal. The males sport horns in the shape of sickles that are about 60 centimetres long. Males weigh about 35 kilograms, while females weigh about 25 kilograms; both sexes have a stature of about one metre. They make their home in the Pafos forest reserve on the northwest slopes of the Troodos Mountains. Mouflons are notoriously shy and fleet of foot, so it is difficult to see one in the wild. Fortunately, the forestry station at Stavros tis Psokas has an enclosure where you can see about 30 sheep up close. Just one hour’s drive from Anassa, the forestry station has a café and picnic grounds. Walk around the perimeter of the enclosure and you will eventually see the sheep—they are usually grazing in a group in the shade. In the wild, they spend summers in high elevations, while in the winter they descend the mountains to avoid the snow and to look for food. Their coats adapt to seasonal change, growing thicker and darker in the winter and thinner and lighter in the summer. Mouflons have been on the island for centuries, as attested by mosaics from the Roman era, but they faced extinction in the early twentieth century. Now they thrive under protected status.
