Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A bighorn ram near Jasper, Alberta. Bighorn sheep live in large herds and do not typically follow a single leader ram, unlike the mouflon, the ancestor of the domestic sheep, which has a strict dominance hierarchy. Before the mating season or "rut", the rams attempt to establish a dominance hierarchy to determine access to ewes for mating.
Rams battle to determine the dominant animal, which then gains possession of the ewes. Facing each other, rams charge head-on from distances of 20 ft (6.1 m) or more, crashing their massive horns together with tremendous impact, until one or the other ceases. [8] Desert bighorn sheep live in separate ram and ewe bands most of the year.
The Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) is subspecies of bighorn sheep unique to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. [3] A 2016 genetics study confirmed significant divergence between the three subspecies of North America's bighorn sheep: Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and desert bighorn sheep. [4]
Ovis is a genus of mammals, part of the Caprinae subfamily of the ruminant family Bovidae. [1] Its seven highly sociable species are known as sheep or ovines. Domestic sheep are members of the genus, and are thought to be descended from the wild mouflon of central and southwest Asia.
Farmers may also choose to focus on a particular breed of sheep in order to sell registered purebred animals, as well as provide a ram rental service for breeding. [140] A new option for deriving profit from live sheep is the rental of flocks for grazing; these " mowing services" are hired in order to keep unwanted vegetation down in public ...
Four breeds of sheep, in the illustrated encyclopedia Meyers Konversationslexikon. This is a list of breeds of domestic sheep.Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are partially derived from mouflon (Ovis gmelini) stock, and have diverged sufficiently to be considered a different species.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Sheep are one of the few animals where the molecular basis of the diversity of male sexual preferences has been examined. [19] However, this research has been controversial, and much publicity has been produced by a study at the Oregon Health and Science University that investigated the mechanisms that produce homosexuality in rams.