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The argali Ovis ammon is categorized as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (Harris & Reading, 2008) but the Marco Polo argali (or Marco Polo sheep) Ovis ammon polii has not been assessed separately as a subspecies. However, a national assessment categorized the Marco Polo argali as Critically Endangered in Pakistan (Sheikh & Molur, 2004). The historical distribution of the subspecies includes Pakistan and other countries that share the Pamir Mountains (Russia, Afghanistan, China, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; Heptner et al., 1966; Schaller, 1976, 1977; Petocz et al., 1978; Schaller et al., 1987; Fedosenko, 2000; Habib, 2006; Schaller & Kang, 2008). Throughout its range it is restricted to sparsely vegetated high-altitude environments (4,500–6,100 m) with harsh climatic conditions (Schaller et al., 1987; Roberts, 1997).
In Pakistan, the Marco Polo argali was reported historically from only three sites in the extreme north-west of Hunza District in Gilgit-Baltistan (Schaller, 1977; Hess et al., 1997; Roberts, 1997); retrospective studies have shown that these valleys were once home to sizeable populations. Roberts (1997) quoted the Mir of Hunza's estimate of 1,000 Marco Polo argali in Khunjerab National Park. Clark (1964) reported the sighting of 65 male Marco Polo argali by an American tourist. Rasool (1981) reported populations of 300, 120, 160 and 100 in 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980, respectively, but during December 1987–January 1988 the population was estimated to comprise only 20–25 individuals (Rasool, 1990). Ahmad (1996) reported 52 individuals from Karachanai Valley, and Shafiq & Ali (1998) reported 87 in Khunjerab National Park. Schaller et al. (1987) confirmed local extirpation on the Chinese side of the Khunjerab Pass and referred to the population in the Karachanai area as an isolated one. Schaller et al. (1987) found only a skull as evidence of the Marco Polo argali at the Kilik Pass on the Pakistani side in 1974 but observed 48 individuals on the Chinese side of the Mintika Pass.
Rasool (1990) linked the historical abundance of argali in Pakistan to the ban on hunting imposed by Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan of Hunza (1892–1935), with rampant poaching on the Chinese side forcing the species to take refuge in the Kilik, Mintika and Khunjerab Pass areas until 1949, when the Chinese government imposed a ban on...