Only after getting out of the Jeep and walking over did Li Long see that the animal Harimu was skinning was not a domestic sheep, but a Siberian ibex.
The Siberian ibex was not particularly large. Its horns were short and curved, and its coat was grayish white. From a distance, it looked rather like a domestic goat.
Harimu was skinning it while Talihaal and Jade Mountain River watched nearby. Talihaal was resting a hand on a rifle, and Li Long guessed he must have shot the ibex.
When Li Long arrived, all three stopped what they were doing and came over to greet him.
"Did Talihaal shoot this?" After shaking hands with them, Li Long pointed at the ibex and asked.
"Yes, I shot it this morning. The ibex I used to see were all up on the mountaintops, in herds. This morning I saw just one on the slope south of our home, so I shot it."
"This is good stuff." Li Long recalled that people elsewhere also called these blue sheep or rock sheep. He had even steeped some of its blood in liquor, though he had yet to drink any and did not know how effective it was.
The ibex was almost completely skinned, so there was certainly no blood to be had, and Li Long had not intended to ask for any. To be honest, these animals were fairly easy to hunt around here.
Siberian ibex liked mountaintops more than three thousand meters above sea level, not wooded mountains, but steep places with bare summits where only weeds and low shrubs grew.
They were also found in Southern Xinjiang, living in several large canyons and eating shrubs and weeds.
As for whether they could hook their horns around rocks to sleep, Li Long had never