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C&H
Exotics |
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Texas
Dall |
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Purchase |
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If
you are interested in purchasing a Texas
Dall, please feel free to contact
us for the latest pricing and
availability. Click
here to see photos of our animals. |
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Texas
Dall |
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Bighorn
Sheep,
largest and best-known wild sheep
of the North American continent, also
called Rocky Mountain sheep. They are
found from southern British Columbia to
northwestern Mexico. A full-grown
bighorn may average 101 cm (40 in) at
the shoulder and range in weight from 79
to 158 kg (175 to 350 lb). The great
curved horns, which may take more than
one turn, attain a length of up to 127
cm (up to 50 in). The ewes have smaller
horns, seldom exceeding 38 cm (15 in).
The coat is not woolly but long, full,
and coarse, like that of a goat. The
animals have a short mating season,
during which the rams clash head-on in a
battle for the ewes; for the rest of the
year the sheep usually divide into
separate male and female herds. The
bighorns leap from ledge to ledge at
great speed and grip slippery surfaces
with the shock-absorbing elastic pads of
the feet. The animals have exceptionally
acute senses of sight, smell, and
hearing.
Two
other varieties found in northwest North
America are the white sheep, or Dall
sheep, and the deep gray or
grayish-brown Stone's sheep. The bighorn
is related to the Asian argali,
the mouflon, and the domestic sheep.
Scientific
classification:
The bighorn sheep belongs to the family
Bovidae, in the order Artiodactyla. It
is classified as Ovis canadensis. |
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Sheep |
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Sheep
are even-toed, hoofed animals. They are
cud-chewing animals with the upper
incisor teeth missing and with a
four-compartmented stomach (see Artiodactyl).
They have paired, hollow, unbranched
horns that are not shed. The horns of
the adult male, or ram, are massive and
spirally curved. The horns of the adult
female, or ewe, are short and only
slightly curved.
Sheep
typically have a long, fairly narrow
muzzle and pointed ears. The length of
the head and body averages about 1.5 m
(about 5 ft), with a short tail, and an
adult may weigh 75 to 200 kg (165 to 440
lb). In the wild, the animals are nimble
runners and climbers. The female bears
up to three young after a gestation
period of about 150 days. Sheep live as
long as 20 years.
Besides
providing pelts and wool
for clothing and carpets, meat in the
form of lamb and mutton, and milk for
drinking and cheesemaking, sheep are
used to a limited extent as pack
animals, and the wild species are hunted
as game. Several distinct types and more
than 800 breeds of domesticated sheep
have been developed. The breeds are
adapted to environments that range from
desert to tropical conditions. |
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