"The Defender" by Nicholas Kalashnikoff is a children's novel published in 1951. Deep in the Siberian mountains, an ostracized shepherd named Turgen befriends a herd of wild rams, causing villagers to brand him a sorcerer. When hunting season arrives and hunters threaten the rams' lives, Turgen must choose between his safety and protecting the animals he has grown to love. A widowed mother and her children become his unlikely allies in this tale of compassion and courage.
Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Defender_(Kalashnikoff_novel))