Currently, in Tajikistan, the number of sheep Marco Polo, which, because of the beauty of the horns, most tourists call the "Tajik handsome", has increased by one and a half thousand heads, their total number is 26,483. This was announced by the vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, head of the department of biology and medicine, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, doctor of biological sciences Abdusattor Saidov during the annual meeting of the department of biology and medicine of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan.

As previously reported, until the 30th anniversary of State Independence of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Marco Polo brand / Ovis ammon polii /, listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Tajikistan as a rare animal, is placed in all the cultural and entertainment gardens of Tajikistan at the same time with the aim of protecting and increasing the number of Marco Polo The Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan in cooperation with the Association of Hunters of Tajikistan in the Murghab region will create a research laboratory of sheep Marco Polo.
According to Abdusattor Saidov, in 2019, the number of sheep of Marco Polo sheep, Bukhara mountain sheep (Urial) and goat goats in the Murghab region, Darvaz Range, Hazrati Shokh, Oktov, Sarsarak, Teriklitov and Hutalon Wildlife Refuge was counted. In total, 26,483 individuals of Marco Polo sheep were registered, 832 of Bukhara mountain sheep and 2,929 goat goats.
“An analysis using a geographical information system showed that the density of Marco Polo sheep per 1 km2 ranges from 35 to 86 animals. Information on the number of rare animals for establishing a hunting quota was submitted to the Committee on Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, ”the Tajik scientist said.
Recall that on January 29, 2019, during the press conference, the head of the Department of Plant and Animal Life Protection of the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan Abdukodir Muskayev noted that according to the latest monitoring, the total number of Marco Polo sheep is 25 thousand heads. After this indicator, it was found that the number of this type of sheep increased by almost one and a half thousand heads compared to the same period last year.
According to the Committee for Environmental Protection, before the independence of the republic, the number of sheep of Marco Polo was about 12 thousand heads. In 2015, the number of Marco Polo was brought to 20-22 thousand.
It should be noted that the mountain sheep Marco Polo is a brand of Tajikistan, which, along with other achievements of the republic, attracts the attention of foreign tourists. Tourists from America and Europe come to Tajikistan not only to hunt, but also to see them at least once.
Today, foreign tourists are most interested in hunting for Marco Polo sheep, 50-56% of hunters are Americans. Quotas are mainly allocated to attract tourists. Marco Polo mountain sheep also live in Afghanistan, China and Kyrgyzstan, but the subspecies of Marco Polo from Tajikistan is much more elegant and attracts the attention of tourists.