Ovis aries (domestic sheep, mouflon, red sheep, feral sheep), with nine subspecies, including urials.Ovis ammon (argalis), with nine subspecies.Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Eutheria Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Caprinae Genus: Ovis Species: Here is the taxonomy of sheep, according to ITIS: Also, male goats have beards while male sheep do not. Goats typically have straight horns and sheep have rounded horns. Sheep usually can be identified from their similar looking cousins by their horns. Sheep are part of the Bovidae family, which includes antelopes, cattle and goats. (Image credit: National Park Service ) Classification/taxonomy For example, the male argali sheep doesn’t become sexually mature until age 5, while the female becomes sexually mature at age 1 or 2, according to the ADW.Ī desert bighorn sheep at Lake Mead, Arizona. They are weaned around four to six month and become sexually mature around one and a half to five years, depending on species and gender. Lambs can walk just minutes after they are born, though they are often dependent on their mothers for the first four to six months of their lives. They usually give birth to one or two offspring at a time in the spring.īaby sheep are called lambs. After mating, female sheep have a gestation period of around five months. Mating season, called the rut, happens in the autumn. Male sheep fight for the right to mate with the females and the strongest is usually the only one allowed to mate. The desert bighorn sheep, for example, gets most of its water from eating plants, according to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. To completely digest their food, sheep will regurgitate their food into their mouths, rechew and swallow. They typically eat seeds, grass and plants. Like all ruminants, they have multi-chambered stomachs that are adapted to ferment cellulose before digestion, according to the ADW. Sheep are herbivores, which means their diet does not include meat. Dominance is gained when one male submits. Some ram each other at speeds up to 20 mph (32 kph), according to National Geographic (opens in new tab). Male sheep fight for dominance in their group. Nursery herds can have five to 100 members that include adult females and their young. These herds usually contain five to 50 rams at one time. Males have their own herds called bachelor herds. Sheep are social, but usually only with their own gender. They are found in Asia and the Middle East on grassy terrains with elevations of up to 19,690 feet (6,000 m), according to the ADW. They can live on desert mountains as high as 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Bighorn sheep live in the Rocky Mountain region of North America. Desert bighorn sheep live in Death Valley, California, as well as Nevada, Texas and northern Mexico. Wild sheep also live throughout the world - in the Middle East, Asia, Central Europe and North America - mostly in mountainous areas. Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated, and they are raised all over the world. (Image credit: Muythaisong Pitakpong Shutterstock) Habitat The urial (Ovis aries orientalis or Ovis orientalis) is the wild ancestor of the domestic sheep.
It is 4.6 to 5.3 feet (140 to 160 cm) long and 3.1 to 3.7 feet (95 to 112 cm) at the shoulder. The snow sheep, or Siberian bighorn sheep ( Ovis nivicola), lives in eastern Russia, according to the Ultimate Ungulate website. Males are from 4.2 to 5.9 feet (130 to 180 cm) in length females are 4.3 to 5.3 feet (132 to 162 cm). Males have massive flaring and curling horns, but females have slender horns. They are the only thin-horned mountain sheep. (14 kg).ĭall's sheep ( Ovis dalli) live in Alaska and the Yukon. Bighorn rams have massive horns that weigh more than all of the bones in their bodies, about 30 lbs. Males are typically 5 to 6 feet (160 to 180 cm) long, head to tail females are about 4.9 feet (150 cm), according to the ADW. Bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis) of the Rocky Mountains are similar in size.
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