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The Barbary Sheep (Ammotragus Lervia), also known as Aoudad, is a species of Caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. Four Horned Sheep most commonly has four horns. The origin of the breed is not known; broken-coloured polycerate Sheep were present in England by the middle of the seventeenth century, and were widespread a century later. The Mouflon (Ovis Gmelini) is a wild Sheep native to the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic Sheep breeds.
Barbary Sheep stand 75 to 110 cm (2 ft 6 in to 3 ft 7 in) tall at the shoulder, with a length around 1.5 m (5 ft), and weigh 30 to 145 kg (66 to 320 lb). 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 greyish-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 76 cm (30 in) in length. The horns are fairly smooth, with slight wrinkles evident at the base as the animal matures.
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 2 metres (7 ft). 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 dog and competition due to overgrazing by domestic animals and drought threaten their populations.
The Four Horned Sheep is a small, multi-horned, piebald Sheep that resembles a goat in its conformation. However, it is not the only breed that can produce polycerate or piebald offspring. Other polycerate breeds include the Hebridean, Icelandic, Manx Loaghtan, and the Navajo-Churro, and other piebald breeds include the Finn Sheep, Shetland Sheep and the West African Dwarf.
Mature rams (males) weigh about 54 to 82 kg (120 to 180 lb), while ewes (females) weigh about 36 to 54 kg (80 to 120 lb). The body frame is long, with a straight back and a rump that slopes toward the base of the tail. The rams have short scrotums, free of wool which hold the testicles closer to the body than those of modern breeds, while the ewes have small udders free of wool that are also held closer to the body than those of modern breeds. The head is slender and triangular, and clear of wool forward of the horns and on the cheeks. The tail is long and woolly, extending almost to the hock if it has not been docked. Four Horned Sheep owners do not usually dock the tail completely, even for market Sheep, but instead leave several inches (several centimetres) to cover the anus and vulva. The legs are medium-length, slender, free of wool below the knees, and preferably white with or without coloured patches. The hooves are black or striped. It is not unusual for Four Horned Sheep to be cow-hocked. They provide a lean carcass with little external fat, with a high yield of meat compared to more improved breeds.
The most distinguishing features of the Four Horned Sheep are their four horns, although they may have as few as two or as many as six. Both sexes are always horned, and the rams tend to have larger and more impressive horns. Two-horned rams typically have horizontal double-curled horns. Four-horned rams have two vertical centre horns which may be 61 cm (2 ft) or more in length, and two smaller side horns, which grow down along the sides of the head. The horns on the ewe are smaller in diameter, shorter in length and appear more delicate than those of the ram. British Four Horned Sheep most often have two horns, while American Four Horned Sheep are more often polycerate.
The horns are normally black, but may be black and white striped; white horns are undesirable. Ideally, horns are smooth and balanced, strongly attached to the skull, and grow in a way that does not impede the animal’s sight or grazing abilities. Rams have larger horns than ewes. The horns in two-horned Sheep, and the lower horns in four-horned animals, grow in a spiral shape. The rostral set of horns usually extend upwards and outwards, while the caudal set of horns curls downwards along the side of the head and neck. On polycerate animals it is preferred that there is a fleshy gap between the two pairs of horns. Partial or deformed horns that are not firmly attached to the skull, often referred to as “scurs”, are not unusual but are considered undesirable.
Each Four Horned Sheep has distinctive markings that enable the shepherd to identify specific Sheep from a distance. Desirable colour traits include an animal which is approximately 60% white, with the remaining 40% consisting of a random pattern of black or “lilac” (brownish-grey) spots or patches. The skin beneath the white fleece is pink, while skin beneath coloured spots is darkly pigmented. Both rams and ewes exhibit black markings, some of which are breed specific and some of which are random.
Breed specific markings include large, symmetrical dark patches incorporating the ears, eyes and cheeks, and a dark cape over the dorsal part of the neck and shoulders. The face should have a white blaze extending from the poll to the muzzle. The muzzle itself should be dark. The classic Four Horned Sheep face is often referred to as “badger-faced”, consisting of black cheeks and muzzle with a white blaze running down the front of the face. In addition to these markings, random spots may occur on the rest of the body and legs (including the carpi, hocks, and pasterns). Certain markings are common in particular lines: large muzzle markings, lack of leg markings, lack of muzzle markings, etc.
Mouflon have reddish to dark brown, short-haired coats with dark back stripes and black ventral areas and light-coloured saddle patches. The males are horned; some females are horned, while others are polled. The horns of mature rams are curved almost one full revolution (up to 85 cm). Mouflon have shoulder heights of around 0.9 m and body weights of 50 kg (males) and 35 kg (females).
Mouflon rams have a strict dominance hierarchy. Before mating season or “rut”, which is from late autumn to early winter, rams try to create a dominance hierarchy to determine access to ewes (female Mouflon) for mating. Mouflon rams fight one another to obtain dominance and win an opportunity to mate with females. Mouflons reach sexual maturity at the age of two to four years. Young rams need to obtain dominance before they get a chance to mate, which takes another three years. Mouflon ewes also go through a similar hierarchy process in terms of social status in the first two years, but can breed even at low status. Pregnancy in females lasts five months, in which they produce one to two offspring.
A Mouflon was cloned successfully in early 2001, and lived at least seven months, making it the first clone of an endangered mammal to survive beyond infancy. This demonstrated that a common species (in this case, a domestic Sheep) can successfully become a surrogate for the birth of an exotic animal such as the Mouflon. If cloning of the Mouflon can proceed successfully, it has the potential to reduce strain on the number of living specimens.
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.
Four Horn Sheep are raised around the world, living in North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Central Europe. They are mainly found in mountainous areasand do need to seek shelter when it gets extremely hot.
Mouflon are found in the Lesser Caucasus in southeastern Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in Iran’s western Alborz region and the Zagros Mountains spanning eastern Iraq and western Iran. They were possibly introduced to Cyprus during the Neolithic period.
Planning carefully is the key to a good Sheep taxidermy job. When tanning and oiling the hides, the best chemicals and methods in the world are used to make sure they will last for generations. At Lifeform Taxidermy, we carefully choose our forms to make sure they fit well, and we’ll even custom make the forms according to any instruction, you may have in mind, at no extra cost. Full-mount trophies come with standard natural habitat bases that are made just for them. We use only the best materials and our 40 years of experience in the field to give your trophies new meaning. The finished trophies look life-like. When repair is needed, every effort is made to repair cuts and scrapes while keeping bullet damage to a minimum. Skin preparation and storage tips for a flawless Sheep trophy.
Take care of your trophy before you bring it to the taxidermist – field preparation is the most important start. As soon as you take the hit on your trophy, it starts to rot, and the heat of Africa speeds up the decaying process. The hunter must not drag the body of the animal from the site where it was shot to the waiting hunting truck. The trophy should be protected from the hot metal bed of the hunting truck with a thick layer of cut grass or leaves.
So that nothing goes wrong, the skinning needs to start right away. Remove all of the meat, fat, dirt, and blood from the skin. Clean the skin well. After that, allow the skin to drip dry for a short time, it should then be salted. It is recommended to soak the skin in a salt solution for at least five hours and ideally overnight. Use about 20 kg of salt per 100 litres of water. After taking the skin out of the solution, salt it while it is still flat and flesh side up on a clean surface. To get the full effect of the salt, it needs to be absorbed into the skin all over, into all the crevice’s, especially around the facial features. Put the skin in the shade with a layer of salt on it. After 24 hours, dry the cape. Fold with the hair and ears in when it’s dry. To stop insect damage, pesticides must be sprayed on the skin and in the storage area.
How you choose an Sheep taxidermy mount depends on things like your budget, wall space, and personal taste. When it comes to the creation of a full mount, we find that considerable discussion with the customer yields the best results. This is due to the fact that each form is given a distinct shape and arrangement.
Life-Form Taxidermy will make an exact copy of the skin as soon as they get all of your mounting instructions. All of the skins are tanned and oiled with high-quality products and methods to make sure they are preserved for years. Each skin is put on a manikin to make sure that it fits well. After the eyes and ears are expertly placed, the skin is sewn by a professional. Before making any last changes, the taxidermist waits until the animal is dry. They put the trophies in crates, and the shipping company hired by the client brings them to the client.
Every year, dust the mounts with a soft brush or compressed air to fluff up the hair. Trophies should be protected from common pests by spraying a light mist of normal aerosol surface pesticide around them. Think about preserving your trophy with Mount Medix Africa. This is a product that Life-Form Taxidermy offers.
Keep trophies in a cool, dry place. Daylight makes the mounts fade over time, so artificial light is better. If there’s too much humidity, open the windows or turn on a fan. Due to salt and tan residue, hair can make moisture beads when the humidity is high. Using a tissue that soaks up water will also soak up the salts.
The pricing of any trophy is subject to the costing stipulated per taxidermy order, quantity of trophies and preferred mounting options, along with additional requirements.
Should you wish to receive a quotation prior to the hunt, the taxidermist can generate such for you. Please contact [email protected]
Taxidermy is an art form that involves a complicated step-by-step process to make sure that each trophy looks just right and is of a high enough quality that it will last your whole life.
The time it takes a taxidermist to mount an animal might range from days to weeks, and possibly several months, depending on the quantity of trophies per taxidermy order, the display preferences, and volumes of client trophies to be produced, simultaneously, per production schedule.
This depends largely on the “what, how, when” factors. A taxidermy order also only becomes available for production scheduling upon receipt of the required deposit and trophy mounting instructions.
