Barbary Sheep

The Barbary Sheep or Aoudad (Ammotragus lervia) is a goat-antelope found in rocky mountains in North Africa. Six subspecies have been described, mainly according to their distribution in the North of Africa: Ammotragus lervia lervia Pallas, 1777. Ammotragus lervia ornata I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827. Ammotragus lervia sahariensis Rothschild, 1913. Ammotragus lervia blainei Rothschild, 1913. Ammotragus lervia angusi Rothschild, 1921. Ammotragus lervia fassini Lepri, 1930. A. l. ornata, the Egyptian Barbary Sheep, was considered to be extinct, however recent evidence suggests it still exists.

Barbary Sheep stand 80 to 100 cm (30 to 40 inches) at the shoulder and weigh from 40 to 140 kg (90 to 310 lb). Barbary Sheep are sandy brown with a slightly lighter underbelly. There is some shaggy hair on the throat (Which extends down to the chest in males) and a sparse "mane". Their horns have a triangular cross-section. The horns curve outwards, backwards and then inwards. Horns reach up to 50 cm (20 inches).

Barbary Sheep are found in arid mountinous areas where they eat grass, bushes, lichen and acacia, which is all the plant there is in their habitats. Barbary Sheep are crepuscular, active in the early morning and late afternoon, resting in the heat of the day. They are very agile and can jump over two metres from a stand-still. Barbary Sheep are usually solitary.

Also known as 'arui' or 'audad'.

AN EXOTIC UNGULATE EXPANDING IN THE SOUTH OF EUROPE: The species is currently expanding in the southeastern quarter of the Iberian Peninsula based on recent field surveys (Cassinello et al., 2004). Aoudads have become common in a limited region of the south east of Spain since its introduction as a game species in Sierra Espuña Natural Park in 1970. Its adaptability enabled it to colonise nearby areas in a short period. Apart from this source of expansion, the increasing number of Aoudads in Spanish private game reserves provided other centers of dispersion. In addition, Aoudads were introduced in La Palma Island (Canary Islands), becoming a serious threat to endemic flora. Of great conservation concern is the species potential as a competitor against native ungulates inhabiting the peninsula. Surveys conducted in southern Spain documented rapid colonization of new areas and established viable populations, consisting of adult males and females and the unequivocal presence of nursery groups, in the provinces of Alicante, Almería, Granada and Murcia. Also, Aoudads have spread throughout the north and centre of La Palma. There are two main conservational concerns: the necessity of conducting detailed and reliable surveys in all potential regions where the species might expand, and the urgent need of changing current game policies in order to establish reliable controls on big game reserves to prevent animals from escaping.

Link to a Spanish site on complete biological information about the Aoudad: http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/mamiferos/ammler.html

References

Cassinello, J. (1998). Ammotragus lervia: a review on systematics, biology, ecology and distribution. Annales Zoologici Fennici 35: 149–162

Cassinello, J.; Serrano, E.; Calabuig, G. & Pérez, J.M. (2004). Range expansion of an exotic ungulate (Ammotragus lervia) in southern Spain: ecological and conservation concerns. Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 851–866

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.