RAM RUT-INVOLVEMENT IN A HUNTED POPULATION OF MOUFLONS

This study was conducted during the rut in a protected valley (Vialais) inhabited by one permanent population of ewes. This valley formes part of a larger hunted area. Rams which segregate from ewes entered the Vialais during the pre-rut, first young rams while the oldest rams arrived later. These latter stay in the company of ewes only when most lambs are conceived. The removal of old males shifted the male population structure, favoring young males. Old males tended a low proportion of ewes in mating groups which was used as an index of the male mating success. A larger proportion of young males successfully tended estrous ewes than in protected populations of wild sheep. Despite that, the population is highly productive which contradicts the arguments that precocious involment of young males in reproduction may be detrimental to population productivity.