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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Barbary
sheep, aoudad |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Artiodactyla |
| FAMILY: |
Bovidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Ammotragus
lervia |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The
Barbary sheep has a long, vertical fringe of hair
extending from the throat region to the upper part
of the front legs. It also has long back-curved
horns. |
| MALE |
The
horns of males are slightly longer than those of
females |
|
| SIZE: |
Approximately
0.91-1.1 m (3-3.5 ft.) tall at the shoulder |
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| WEIGHT: |
Approximately
45.5 kg (100 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
Graze
on a variety of grasses, shrubs, flowers, young
plants, and leaves |
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| GESTATION: |
Mating
takes place throughout the year, but mostly occurs
from September through November. Gestation lasts
approximately 154-161 days. A single offspring is
typical, although twins are also common. |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
About
18 months |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Have
been known to live as much as 20 years |
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| RANGE: |
Barbary
sheep were originally native to the Barbary coast
in Africa including Morocco, the Western Sahara,
Egypt, and Sudan. Some populations have been introduced
to North America. |
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| HABITAT: |
Native
to rocky, dry, mountain areas |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Vulnerable |
| CITES |
Appendix
II |
| USFWS |
Not listed |
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| 1. |
Sheep are grazers, chewing their cud. They have
a four-chambered stomach that allows them to ruminate. |
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| 2. |
Male sheep are called rams. Females are called ewes. |
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| 3. |
Barbary sheep live in arid environments and acquire
much of their water from the plants they eat. However,
they will readily drink water if it is available. |
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| Barbary
sheep populations have declined drastically over
much of their native range due to hunting for their
skins, meat, and sinew.
In
some areas where Barbary sheep have been introduced,
there is concern that they may compete with the
native bighorn sheep for food resources.
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|
|
MacDonald, D. The Encyclopedia of Mammals: 2.
London: George Allen & Unwin Co., 1985. |
|
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Nowak, R. M. Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th
edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1999. |
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The Mammals of Texas: http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/ammolerv.htm
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