Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia)

Description

Barbary sheep fact file

• Description
• Biology
• Range
• Habitat
• Status
• Threats
• Conservation
• Find out more
• Glossary
• References
• Print factsheet

Barbary sheep description

The Barbary sheep has the distinction of being the only wild sheep species in Africa ⁽⁴⁾, and the only species in the genus Ammotragus ⁽⁵⁾. In appearance, it is somewhat of an intermediate between a sheep and a goat. It is a stocky, heavily built animal, with short legs and a rather long face ⁽²⁾. The coat, which is generally a sandy-brown colour ⁽⁴⁾, is woolly during the winter, but moults to a finer, sleek coat for the hot summer months ⁽²⁾. Both sexes have horns that sweep backwards and outwards in an arch; those of the male are much thicker, longer and more heavily ridged than the more slender horns of the female ⁽²⁾. Males also differ from females by their significantly heavier weight, (up to twice that of females) ⁽²⁾, and the notably longer curtain of hair that hangs from the throat, chest and upper part of the forelegs ^{(2) (5)}. On males, this mane of long, soft hairs almost touches the ground ^{(2) (5)}. The short tail, which is hairless on the underside, has scent glands ⁽²⁾.

Also known as

aoudad, uaddan.

French

Mouflon À Manchettes.

Size

Head-body length: 130 – 165 cm ⁽²⁾

Tail length: 12 – 25 cm ⁽²⁾

Male weight: 100 – 140 kg ⁽²⁾

Female weight: 40 – 55 kg ⁽²⁾

Barbary sheep biology

This agile sheep lives in small groups of between three and six individuals ⁽⁴⁾, comprising a single adult male, several adult females, and their offspring ⁽²⁾. Occasionally, such as in the dry season, several of these groups may congregate, forming parties of up to 20 individuals ⁽⁴⁾. Adult males must earn their position as head of a group of females through intimidation displays, with males showing their magnificent mane of hair on their foreparts ⁽²⁾, and savage fights in which two males stand up to 15 metres apart, and then walk rapidly toward each other, breaking into a run and lowering their heads before colliding ⁽⁵⁾. Remarkably, it has been observed that a male will not attack if his opponent is unprepared or off-balance ⁽⁵⁾.

Mating is thought to peak in October and November, with births taking place around 150 to 165 days later ⁽⁴⁾. One or two young are born at a time, and lie in a secluded site with the mother for the first few days of life, before joining the rest of the group. Female Barbary sheep reach sexual maturity around the age of 18 months, and Barbary sheep in captivity have been known to live for 24 years ⁽²⁾.

The Barbary sheep feeds primarily at dusk, dawn and during the night, on a diet of grass, herbs, and foliage from shrubs and trees. By feeding at night, when plants accumulate moisture from the atmosphere or become covered in dew, the Barbary sheep gains much needed water, enabling this sheep to survive without drinking water during dry periods in its arid habitat ⁽²⁾. Another adaptation to this dry and unproductive terrain can be seen in the Barbary sheep’s reaction to threats; with an almost total lack of sufficient vegetation to hide behind, the Barbary sheep will instead remain motionless when threatened, their sandy-brown coat enabling them to blend into their surroundings ⁽⁵⁾.

Barbary sheep range

The Barbary sheep is found in northern Africa, where it is distributed from Morocco and Western Sahara, east to Egypt and Sudan ⁽⁵⁾.

Barbary sheep habitat

Barbary sheep are found in arid hill and mountain habitats ⁽⁶⁾. Within this rocky, rugged terrain, the Barbary sheep selects areas where there is some shade, either caves, rocky overhangs or trees, to which it can retreat during the hottest hours of the day ⁽²⁾.

Barbary sheep status

Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List ⁽¹⁾ and listed on Appendix II of CITES ⁽³⁾. Subspecies: Ammotragus lervia ornata (Egyptian Barbary Sheep) is classified as Extinct in the Wild (EW) on the IUCN Red List ⁽¹⁾.

Barbary sheep threats

The sole wild sheep of Africa has been heavily impacted by both extensive hunting and competition with livestock ^{(2) (4)}, resulting in an alarming decline in numbers and the disappearance of this species entirely from some areas ^{(4) (5)}. The Barbary sheep is an important source of meat and hides for many of the native people of the Sahara ⁽⁵⁾, and expanding human populations have not only led to an increase in hunting, but has reduced suitable habitat for the sheep as logging, agriculture and grazing expands into the mountainous areas ⁽⁶⁾.

The Egyptian subspecies (Ammotragus lervia ornata) was, like all Barbary sheep, reduced significantly in number by hunting and competition with livestock and feral camels ⁽⁶⁾, to the point where no more were believed to exist in the wild ⁽¹⁾. However, there is some evidence, collected between 1997 and 2000, that the Egyptian Barbary sheep persists in the southwest and southeast of Egypt, meaning that the IUCN classification of Extinct in the Wild may no longer be valid ⁽⁷⁾.

Barbary sheep conservation

While the Barbary sheep is protected by law throughout most of its range, the lack of enforcement of these laws is a serious problem for the conservation of this species ⁽⁶⁾. This relates to the unfortunate fact that most countries in which the Barbary sheep occurs have little funds available to conserve these animals ⁽⁶⁾. For the Egyptian subspecies, confirming whether it does still exist in the wild is clearly a priority, followed by the effective protection of any populations that do remain ⁽⁷⁾. Giza Zoo in Egypt holds a population of Barbary sheep, which may be used in the future in reintroduction programmes. The Egyptian Wildlife Service, in co-operation with the zoo, has already identified some areas for possible reintroductions ⁽⁶⁾.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Find out more

Fro further information on the conservation of wildlife of the Sahara see:

• Sahara Conservation Fund:
  www.saharaconservation.org

Authentication

Glossary

Genus

A category used in taxonomy, which is below ‘family’ and above ‘species’. A genus tends to contain species that have characteristics in common. The genus forms the first part of a ‘binomial’ Latin species name; the second part is the specific name.

Subspecies

A population usually restricted to a geographical area that differs from other populations of the same species, but not to the extent of being classified as a separate species.

References

1. IUCN Red List (April, 2008)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org
2. Kingdon, J. (1997) The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press Ltd, London.
3. CITES (April, 2008)
   http://www.cites.org
4. Stuart, C. and Stuart, T. (1997) Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
5. Nowak, R.M. (1999) Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
6. Shackleton, D.M. (1997) Wild Sheep and Goats and their Relatives: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Caprinae. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
7. Wacher, T., Baha el Din, S., Mikhail, G. and Baha el Din, M. (2002) New observations of the ‘extinct’ Barbary sheep Ammotragus lervia ornata in Egypt. Oryx, 36(3): 203 - 304.