Current SCI all time record: Score 166 6/8

Description: A relatively large sheep with horns curving outward, backward, and then inward and marked with strong transverse wrinkles; horns of females similar but somewhat smaller; tail relatively long, reaching nearly to hocks and with long hairs on terminal half; a conspicuous growth of long hair on throat, chest, and upperparts of front legs; no beard as is found in goats; upperparts and outer surface of legs uniform rufous or grayish brown; blackish mid-dorsal line from head to middle of back; flanks, inner surface of legs and belly whitish, but the chest colored like the sides; horns yellowish brown, darkening with age, set close together (nearly touching at the bases), and attaining a length of 50-80 cm.

Other Common Names: Barbary Sheep

Size:

Range: (A pseudo sheep indigenous to the mountains of North Africa where hunting, at great expense, has just been reopened in Chad): Over 20,000 live in Texas; year around.

Natural History: This sheep, also called the aoudad, is adapted to a dry, rough, barren, and waterless habitat — much as is the native bighorn sheep of our southwestern deserts. Consequently, it is quite likely that these two could not survive together in the same area because of competition between them.

These sheep live in small groups comprised of old and young animals of both sexes. They are expert climbers and can ascend and descend slopes so precipitous that man can negotiate them only with great difficulty. Consequently, they are difficult to hunt.

Their food consists of a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Apparently, they are capable of producing metabolic water and can survive for long periods without access to fresh water. However, when water is available they utilize it for both drinking and bathing.

These sheep were first brought to the United States in about 1900 and have been reared in zoos and on private preserves for a number of years. They were first released in the wild in New Mexico in 1950 and in Texas in 1957, when 31 were released southwest of Claude in Armstrong County. Thirteen more were released near Quitaque. These introductions were highly successful in the Palo Duro Canyon area. By May of 1966 the population had increased to an estimated 400-500 sheep. By 1963, the population had increased to such a level that a controlled hunt was deemed advisable.

Hunting Characteristics: