From the beginning of the 20th century, mouflon were introduced directly from Sardinia and Corsica as park and game animals in Germany. Here, above all, the Hamburg merchant, Oscar Louis Tesdorpf, was instrumental in driving forward their naturalisation. The first specimens were released into the Göhrde State Forest in 1903, the next ones in Harzgerode in 1906, followed by further releases in the Taunus and the Solling. In all cases, the mouflon favoured level or low-lying plains with forest cover and not, as expected, rocky, mountainous areas. Gradually they were mixed with varieties of domestic sheep, especially crossbreeding with the racka.