Barbary Sheep

  The Barbary Sheep or Aoudad (Ammotragus
  lervia) is indigenous to the Sahara and its sub-
  Saharan fringes. It can be found in suitable
  habitats throughout the region, from the
  Atlantic coast to the Red Sea, and from the
  Mediterranean Atlas Mountains to the
  escarpments of the northern Sahel. It is
  amazing how such a big mammal, where
  adult males may weigh up to 145 kg,
  manages to survive in some of Africa’s most
  arid regions, receiving little or no rainfall for
  several years at a time, e.g. Jebel Uweinat
  at the Egypt/Libya/Sudan border.
© Tim Wacher/ZSL

This doesn't mean that Barbary sheep don't drink at all but that they are able to satisfy their water requirements through the plants they eat. When water is available, after rainfall or from springs and mountain pools, they do, something that makes them extremely vulnerable to hunters, especially during the hot season. Traditional hunters will set foot traps in the vicinity of drinking holes and build blinds from which to shoot passing animals. Despite their adaptations, Barbary sheep are heavily affected when vegetation disappears and whole populations may suddenly disappear. When conditions are good, however, the sheep breed well, reacting rapidly to favourable circumstances, giving birth to twins and even triplets.

  As typical rock dwellers, the sheep find the
  food and water other grazers cannot reach
  in deep canyons and on high plateaus.
  In the Moroccan High Atlas, they can be
  found as high as 3000 m in areas with lots
  of snow. In the Red Rea mountains of Egypt,
  they share the habitat with the local
  mountain goat, the Nubian Ibex. Typically,
  Barbary sheep will shelter from the midday
  heat and from wind under boulders, in caves
  or on sheltered plateaus. They love to dust
  themselves in specially excavated scrapes.
  If disturbed, they quickly flee for rocky
© John Newby/SCF                                          slopes and safety. Out of the mountains,
                                                              when they come into wadis to feed or cross
between rocky outcrops, they are very vulnerable.

The male sheep have very big and heavy horns and use them to ram acacia trees and shake them so that the nutritious pods fall down. Barbary sheep live in extended families and there are also male bachelor herds. They move over big distances and can colonize suitable areas readily. This is the case in southern Tunisia where protected populations in Bou Hedma and Dghoumes National Parks were able to recolonize mountain ranges from which they were wiped out some 50 years ago.

  In large protected areas, such as the Ahaggar and Tassili National Parks
  in southern Algeria, Barbary sheep populations are healthy and may
  number several thousand head. But in spite of the resilience and rock-
  loving habits, Barbary sheep are extremely vulnerable and many small,
  isolated populations have either been wiped out by hunting or are in a
  critical state. The spread of automatic weapons throughout the Sahara,
  coupled with insecurity in many mountainous areas, has resulted in serious
  declines in many places. Although globally the Barbary sheep is listed as
  Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, this does not
  reflect the situation locally, where the status is often quite dramatic.

For more information on the Barbary sheep, go the Ultimate Ungulates website.

This article was kindly contributed to SCF by Koen de Smet.