Aoudad Sheep

[jnmar]

A picture I got on one of my game cams at a feeder that was captured back in December. These are a couple of really nice Aoudad Sheep rams (Barbary Sheep). Originally from the rugged mountainous regions of the North coast of Africa. These came from imported animals that were placed on an exotic game ranch about 15 miles up river from our place, probably 30-40 years ago. They're nearly impossible to keep fenced in so it was just a matter of time until some escaped. These things can climb like a goat and jump from standing still over 7' high. So you can see the problem of keeping them confined.

Both of these would be considered record class rams with over 31 inch horn length. Beautiful coats and chaps on these guys. From others that have been harvested, I can say they'd weigh in around 350-400 lbs live on the hoof so they're quite large animals.

I see lot's of tracks, get a few pictures on the game cams, but they're rare to see in person. As you can imagine they blend in with the rocks, trees, and leaves and are very leery of people and vehicles. They live in the roughest part of the ranch and usually stay up high along and under the bluff that overlooks the Brazos River.

Just thought I'd share a nice picture with those of you who haven't had the occasion to see a good picture of them up close.

 

[AlFulchino]

very pretty.....looks like its been groomed

 

[Bert]

That's pretty cool....trail cams can be a lot of fun....really enjoy mine....very nice animals..cool to look at anyways..

 

[ibglowin]

Nice specimens!

When I was a young lad (far, far away in another galaxy) we hunted white tail deer and the ranch also sported Barbado sheep which was a "new breed" to the area.

Sounds like you may be semi close to that neck of the woods.......

 

[Scott]

Nice pics thanks for sharing. As long as they stay leery of people they should be just fine.

 

[Runningwolf]

very cool pictures

 

[PeterZ]

jnmar, where are you located? Great pic.

 

[jnmar]

We're located about an hour west of Fort Worth, TX. The picture was taken 10 miles South of Mineral Wells, TX along the Brazos River.

Thanks for the compliments and comments on the picture. These things have the patience I wish I had with wine making. We don't hunt or kill the Aoudad or deer but I do hunt, kill and trap (I'm losing the battle) all of the wild feral hogs I can. I was sitting in a blind watching that same feeder one afternoon when 3 sheep walked out into an opening about a hundred yards up the hill from the feeder. It was a ram and ewe with her lamb. They must have seen me move inside the blind about the same time I saw them. All three stood absolutely motionless for a solid hour staring directly at me, I don't think they even blinked an eye the whole time. Finally the ewe and lamb came on down with the ram following about 50 yards behind. They ate some corn for a few minutes but he never really quit watching the blind. Finally they moved on towards the river. I was amazed that they would all three remain that still for so long.