The Biological Invasions. The Case of Ovis Orientalis Musimon on the Island of Tenerife: «The Last Mouflon»

In 1971 it was decided to introduce a new species of animal in the Teide National Park: the mouflon. Coming from Asia and already introduced in some regions in Europe, including Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus, this small-sized wild sheep of the Ovis genus was brought to Tenerife to serve the hunting interests of certain sectors of the island’s society.

So, a love of hunting was responsible for incorporating into the local context a species that would soon became a real problem for the island’s endemic and threatened flora. One of the members of this species, a small mouflon, tries to escape one of the many drives organised to put an end to the existence of this invasive species.