A video of a mouflon giving birth in a forest went viral on Facebook on Thursday morning.
Mouflons are usually hard to spot as they are not only shy but also move around fast on the forest slopes in the Troodos mountains and Paphos, particularly in the area of Tripylos, where they feed on oak, cedar and pine trees.
As the ‘wild sheep’ of Cyprus, the mouflon has become a much-loved and photographed icon for the island.
However, 25 years ago, mouflons were nearly driven to extinction with only 1,200 animals remaining.
Breeding programmes have been making efforts to repopulate the endangered species and currently its population is estimated at 3,000 individuals.
Yet, not everybody welcomes the increasing mouflon population. Many farmers and small-scale growers who live in the communities dotted around the Paphos forest, where the mouflons mainly roam, consider the programme’s success a serious nuisance.