The Mouflon is a species of wild sheep and as such is one of the Caprinae or “goat antelopes”. It is thought to be one of the two ancestors for all modern domestic sheep breeds.[1][2] It is red-brown with a dark back-stripe, light colored saddle patch and underparts. The males are horned and the females are horned or polled. They originated in Southwest Asia, home to the species known as the “Asiatic mouflon” (Ovis orientalis). Mouflon were introduced to the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Rhodes, and Cyprus during the neolithic period, perhaps as feral domesticated animals, where they naturalized to the mountainous interiors of these islands over the past few thousand years, giving rise to the species known as European mouflon (O. musimon or O. ammon). They are now rare on the islands and classified as vulnerable by the IUCN,[3] but have been successfully introduced into central Europe, including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania, and even in some northern European countries such as Finland. Since the 1980s, Mouflons have been introduced successfully in game ranches in North America for the purpose of hunting; however in game ranches pure breeds are rare,[citation needed] as they interbred with other species introduced for the same purpose, like Barbado(s) Sheep, Corsican sheep, Painted Desert Sheep, Texas Dall Sheep or Four Horned Sheep (Jacob’s Sheep). As a result, Europe and Asia Minor present the only wild populations of purebred animals.