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DOMESTIC SHEEP*
Ovis aries Linnaeus 1758

Order Artiodactyla : Family Bovidae

*Introduced species

Sheep ranching in Texas began when the first Spanish explorers and missionaries came to the region, and it has steadily expanded since. Texas today leads the nation in sheep production, with the production of wool being more important than mutton. In the early twentieth century extensive changes came to sheep ranching. New breeds were introduced that were better adapted to the high, dry rangelands of the Edwards Plateau, and ranchers turned more and more to the practice of raising sheep, goats, and cattle in the same pastures. One of the most significant developments was the adoption of mesh-wire ("wolf-proof") fencing. Together with government-supported predator control programs, these practices eliminated the gray wolf in the state.

Sheep compete directly with native wildlife for food. They are outstanding consumers of herbaceous plants, some of which are important foods for seed-eating birds and mammals, and they consume some browse as well. When overstocked with goats and cattle, the impacts on rangelands that support native wildlife can be very damaging.

The skull of the domestic sheep is easily recognized by the strongly convex roof of the cranium and the depression in front of the eye socket.

Ovis aries

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From The Mammals of Texas, Seventh Edition by David J. Schmidly and Robert D. Bradley, copyright © 1994, 2004, 2016.  Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.

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