Overview
Horns of males are approximately 30 inches (75-80 cm) in length. Females have much smaller horns and tend to be slightly smaller in body size than males. The wool of these sheep is rather hairy and different colorations are common, however these sheep tend to be either black (20% of the known population) or completely white. Both sexes grow horns. The horns rise upwards and then obliquely from the skull in an extremely tight corkscrew spiral.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Ovis
- Species
- Domestic sheep, Ovis aries
Habitat
Grass plains along mountain ridges.
Diet
Feeds almost entirely on grasses.
Behavior
Gregarious. All Racka sheep stay in large flocks together for the entire year. Only very mature males depart the herds and form bachelor groups. The mating season is in the summer and ewes tend to give birth to twins in January or February. They feed and move for large distances during the day time. Vision is very good, while hearing and sense of smell is less good.
Hunting
Once this species is hunted frequently it becomes extremely alert and wary and makes for a difficult stalk.
Conservation Status
In 1903 these sheep were near extinction, and conservation efforts in the past 100 years have increaded their numbers dramatically. Large herds are protected in the Hortobagy National Park in Hungary; wild herds exist throughout this animal's range.