Barbary sheep

Barbary sheep stand {{convert|75|to|110|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} tall at the shoulder, with a length around {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, and weigh {{convert|30|to|145|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.[http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla/ammotragus_lervia.html Ammotragus lervia] ultimateungulate.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051024060155/http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Ammotragus_lervia.html |date=2005-10-24 }} They are sandy-brown, darkening with age, with a slightly lighter underbelly and a darker line along the back. Upper parts and the outer parts of the legs are a uniform reddish- or grayish-brown. Some shaggy hair is on the throat (extending down to the chest in males) with a sparse mane. Their horns have a triangular cross-section. The horns curve outward, backward, then inward, and can exceed {{convert|30|in|cm|order=flip|abbr=on}} in length. The horns are fairly smooth, with slight wrinkles evident at the base as the animal matures.{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of animals |date=2017 |publisher=Great Neck Pub |isbn=9781429811255}}

Barbary sheep are endemic to regions of Northern Africa primarily surrounding the barren center of the Sahara Desert. Countries and territories where aoudad may be found include Algeria, Chad (north), Egypt, Libya, Mali (north), Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Tunisia and Western Sahara. West of the Nile, they can be found in Sudan; east of the Nile, in the Red Sea Hills.{{MSW3 Grubb|id=14200754}} The now-extinct Ancient Egyptian corkscrew-horned sheep (Ovis longipes palaeoaegyptiacus) was also thought to be a subspecies of wild barbary sheep.{{cite journal |last1=Da Silva |first1=Anne |last2=Ahbara |first2=Abulgasim |last3=Baazaoui |first3=Imen |last4=Jemaa |first4=Slim Ben |last5=Cao |first5=Yinhong |last6=Ciani |first6=Elena |last7=Dzomba |first7=Edgar Farai |last8=Evans |first8=Linda |last9=Gootwine |first9=Elisha |last10=Hanotte |first10=Olivier |last11=Harris |first11=Laura |last12=Li |first12=Meng-Hua |last13=Mastrangelo |first13=Salvatore |last14=Missohou |first14=Ayao |last15=Molotsi |first15=Annelin |last16=Muchadeyi |first16=Farai C. |last17=Mwacharo |first17=Joram M. |last18=Tallet |first18=Gaëlle |last19=Vernus |first19=Pascal |last20=Hall |first20=Stephen J. G. |last21=Lenstra |first21=Johannes A. |title=History and genetic diversity of African sheep: Contrasting phenotypic and genomic diversity |journal=Animal Genetics |date=19 November 2024 |doi=10.1111/age.13488 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385944131 |access-date=25 November 2024|doi-access=free |pmid=39561986 |pmc=11666867 }}

Populations within its native range have been decreasing due to hunting, legal and otherwise, and destruction of habitat.{{Cite journal|last1=Manlius |first1=Nicolas |last2=Menardi-Noguera |first2=Alessandro |last3=Zboray |first3=Andras |year=2003 |title=Decline of the Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) in Egypt during the 20th century: literature review and recent observations |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=259 |issue=4 |pages=403–409 |doi=10.1017/S0952836902003394 }}{{Cite book|last1=Šprem |first1=Nikica |last2=Gančević |first2=Pavao |last3=Safner |first3=Toni |last4=Jerina |first4=Klemen |last5=Cassinello |first5=Jorge |year=2022 |chapter=Barbary Sheep Ammotragus lervia (Pallas, 1777) |title=Terrestrial Cetartiodactyla |location=Cham, Switzerland |publisher=Springer Verlag |pages=367–381 }}

File:Barbary Sheep 2 (ca 1919-1940).jpg.]]

Barbary sheep have been introduced to southeastern Spain{{cite journal |last1=Acevedo |first1=Pelayo |last2=Cassinello |first2=Jorge |last3=Hortal |first3=Joaquín |last4=Gortázar |first4=Christian |title=Invasive exotic aoudad (Ammotragus lervia) as a major threat to native Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica): a habitat suitability model approach |journal=Diversity and Distributions |date=1 June 2007 |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=587–597 |doi=10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00374.x|bibcode=2007DivDi..13..587A |hdl=10261/118202 |s2cid=83656269 |hdl-access=free }} and the southwestern United States.{{cite journal |last1=Cassinello |first1=Jorge |title=Misconception and mismanagement of invasive species: The paradoxical case of an alien ungulate in Spain |journal=Conservation Letters |date=September 2018 |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=e12440 |doi=10.1111/conl.12440|doi-access=free |bibcode=2018ConL...11E2440C }}

They have become common in a limited region of southeastern Spain, since its introduction in 1970 to Sierra Espuña Regional Park as a game species. Its adaptability enabled it to colonize nearby areas quickly, and private game estates provided other centers of dispersion. The species is currently expanding, according to recent field surveys, now being found in the provinces of Alicante, Almería, Granada, and Murcia.{{Cite journal |last1=Cassinello |first1=Jorge |last2=Serrano |first2=Emmanuel |last3=Calabuig |first3=Gustau |last4=Pérez |first4=Jesús M. |date=May 2004 |title=Range expansion of an exotic ungulate (Ammotragus lervia) in southern Spain: ecological and conservation concerns |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1023/B:BIOC.0000014461.69034.78 |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |language=en |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=851–866 |doi=10.1023/B:BIOC.0000014461.69034.78 |bibcode=2004BiCon..13..851C |hdl=10261/118209 |s2cid=24178790 |issn=0960-3115|hdl-access=free }} The species is a potential competitor to native ungulates inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, and has also been introduced to La Palma (in the Canary Islands), and has spread throughout the northern and central parts of the island, where it is a serious threat to endemic vegetation.{{cite journal |last1=Nogales |first1=M. |last2=Rodriguez-Luengo |first2=J. L. |last3=Marerro |first3=P. |title=Ecological effects and distribution of invasive non-native mammals on the Canary Islands |journal=Mammal Review |date=January 2006 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.2006.00077.x}} The aoudad has also been introduced in Croatia several times, where there is a population in Mosor.{{cite book |last1=Hackländer |first1=K. |last2=Zachos |first2=F. E. |title=Handbook of the Mammals of Europe |date=2020 |publisher=Springer, Cham. |isbn=978-3-319-65038-8}}

During the winter of 1957-1958, forty-two Barbary sheep were released in the Palo Duro Canyon of Texas for the purpose of attracting hunters to the region.{{cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Philip |last2=Reagan |first2=John |title=The Aoudad Sheep An Exotic Introduced In The Palo Duro Canyon Of Texas |journal=Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies |date=March 1, 1967 |pages=183-188 |url=https://seafwa.org/journal/1967/aoudad-sheep-exotic-introduced-palo-duro-canyon-texas}}

Although the species has not yet been recorded in Australia, it is considered a pest species in Queensland with the potential to establish in the wild.{{cite web | url=https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/biosecurity/animals/invasive/restricted/barbary-sheep | title=Barbary sheep | date=July 2016 }}

File:Ammotragus lervia, ZOO Praha 121.jpg

A. lervia is the only species in the genus Ammotragus. However, some authors include this genus in the goat genus Capra, together with the sheep genus Ovis.

The subspecies are found allopatrically in various parts of North Africa:

• A. l. lervia Pallas, 1777 (vulnerable)
• A. l. ornata I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827 (Egyptian Barbary sheep, thought to be extinct in the wild but still found in the eastern desert of Egypt)Wacher, T., El Din, S. B., Mikhail, G., & El Din, M. B. (2002). New observations of the ‘extinct’ Barbary sheep Ammotragus lervia ornata in Egypt. Oryx, 36(3), 301-304. {{doi|10.1017/S0030605302000534}}Manlius, N., Menardi-Noguera, A. and Zboray, A. 2003. Decline of the Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) in Egypt during the 20th century: literature review and recent observations. Journal of Zoology (London) 259: 403-409. {{doi|10.1017/S0952836902003394}}
• A. l. sahariensis Rothschild, 1913 (vulnerable)
• A. l. blainei Rothschild, 1913 (vulnerable)
• A. l. angusi Rothschild, 1921 (vulnerable)
• A. l. fassini Lepri, 1930 (vulnerable)

File:barbary.sheep.750pix.jpg

Barbary sheep are found in arid mountainous areas where they graze and browse grasses, bushes, and lichens. They are able to obtain all their metabolic water from food, but if liquid water is available, they drink and wallow in it. Barbary sheep are crepuscular - active in the early morning and late afternoon and rest in the heat of the day. They are very agile and can achieve a standing jump over {{Convert|2|m|ft|sigfig=1}}. They are well adapted to their habitat, which consist of steep, rocky mountains and canyons. They often flee at the first sign of danger, typically running uphill. They are extremely nomadic and travel constantly via mountain ranges. Their main predators in North Africa were the Barbary leopard, Barbary lion, and caracal, but now humans, feral dogs, competition due to overgrazing by domestic animals and drought{{Cite journal |last=Jamel Ben Mimoun, Jorge Cassinello, Saïd Nouira |date=January 2016 |title=Update of the distribution and status of the aoudad Ammotragus lervia (Bovidae, Caprini) in Tunisia |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298791521 |journal=Mammalia}} threaten their populations.

The binomial name Ammotragus lervia derives from the Greek ἄμμος ámmos ("sand", referring to the sand-coloured coat) and τράγος trágos ("goat").

Lervia derives from the wild sheep of northern Africa described as "lerwee" by Rev. T. Shaw in his "Travels and Observations" about parts of Barbary and Levant.

The Spanish named this sheep the arruis, from Berber arrwis, and the Spanish Legion even used it as a mascot for a time.

Aoudad ({{IPA|[ˈɑː.uːdæd]}}) is the name for this sheep used by the Berbers, a North African people, and it is also called arui and waddan (in Libya).

File:BarbarySheep1.jpg|Barbary sheep seeks handouts at a Texas wildlife park

File:BarbarySheep2.jpg|Ewe and lamb rest in the shade of a tree

File:BarbarySheep3.jpg|Lamb (closeup)

File:Barbary Sheep (animal).jpg|Barbary sheep at the Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio

File:Mähnenspringer m w.jpg|Barbary sheep at Tierpark Hagenbeck, Hamburg, Germany

File:Zoo003.jpg|Ewes and a juvenile at Zoologischer Garten, Berlin, Germany

File:Barbary Sheep Tennoji.jpg|Barbary sheep at Tennōji Zoo, Japan

File:Arui02.jpg|Head of a ram

File:Aoudad skeleton.jpg|Skeleton of a Barbary sheep (Museum of Osteology)

File:Barbary Sheep.png|Captive Barbary sheep Safari West Santa Rosa, California

{{Reflist}}

• Cassinello, J. (1998). Ammotragus lervia: a review on systematics, biology, ecology and distribution. Annales Zoologici Fennici 35: 149-162
• Cassinello, J. (2013). Ammotragus lervia: 595–599. In: Mammals of Africa. Vol VI. Pigs, Hippopotamuses, Chevrotain, Giraffes, Deer and Bovids. JS Kingdon & M Hoffmann (Eds.) Bloomsbury Publishing, London.
• Cassinello, J. (2015). Ammotragus lervia (aoudad). In: Invasive Species Compendium. [http://Ammotragus%20lervia http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/94507]{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
• Wacher, T., Baha El Din, S., Mikhail, G. & Baha El Din, M. (2002). New observations of the "extinct" Aoudad Ammotragus lervia ornata in Egypt. Oryx 36: 301–304.

{{Commons and category|Ammotragus lervia}}

{{Wikispecies|Ammotragus lervia}}

{{EB1911 poster|Udad}}

• [http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/mamiferos/ammler.html A Spanish site on complete biological information about the Aoudad]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051024060155/http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Ammotragus_lervia.html The Ultimate Ungulate entry on Barbary Sheep]
• [http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/ammolerv.htm Barbary Sheep in Texas]
• [http://saharanature.wordpress.com/ Barbary Sheep in Sahara] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128214906/https://saharanature.wordpress.com/ |date=2021-01-28 }}

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Category:Caprids

Category:Mammals of Africa

Category:Mammals of North Africa

Category:Mammals of the Middle East

Category:Fauna of the Sahara

Category:Vulnerable animals

Category:Vulnerable biota of Africa

Category:Vulnerable fauna of Asia

Category:Mammals described in 1777

Category:Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas