Aoudads!

[Bethers]

[IrishIroamed]

Holy moley!!!

[chalet05]

I’m jealous! Awesome!

[snowball]

that is quite a herd .... they look similar to big horns are they sheep or goats? or something else???
sheila

[Bethers]

that is quite a herd .... they look similar to big horns are they sheep or goats? or something else???
sheila

They are sheep. From the Barbary sheep of Africa. They were introduced to this area many years ago.

[Cudedog]

Nice grouping of Aoudads, their coloring blends them in really well with the terraine.

Are there any Aoumoms?

Anne

[MandysMom]

Wow, how cool you get to see them!
Velda

[Shirlv]

Thanks Beth, I had never heard of this sheep being in the US. Needed to search and read up which is a good thing. Lol

[Colliemom]

Fascinating. Never heard of them either. Thanks for posting this.

[JudyJB]

Since this is an introduced species, are they competing with the native Bighorn Sheep?

[Bethers]

Since this is an introduced species, are they competing with the native Bighorn Sheep?

No. The native bighorn sheep didn't do well here. And were dying off on their own. So many years ago. Here's info on it:
"But by the end of the 19th century, overhunting, habitat loss, and disease pared North American populations down to thousands of individuals. When the bighorns began disappearing from West Texas in the early 20th century, the North African aoudad took their place. Imported by zoos, and later set loose by private owners and public officials, aoudads flourished where bighorns had struggled to survive."

Amazingly, even though the auodads have been hunted since their introduction, they have not become extinct and have flourished.