European wild sheep (SciiFii)

The European wild sheep (Ovis europaeus), also known as the Eurasian wild sheep or European brown sheep, is a species of wild sheep that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout Eurasia to help boost biodiversity. The European wild sheep is a rather large sheep, growing to be about the size of the medium-sized miniature horse. The European wild sheep is most social of the wild sheep, living in massive herds ranging from around 150 to 1,000 individuals at a time, having a similar lifestyle to those of the blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus). The European wild closely resembles a Texel sheep in appearance, but with large, ringed horns, while the horns on the males are slightly larger. The vegetation preferred by the species varies based on elevation and area. In higher elevations, they predominantly eat grasses, sedges, forbs, and shrubs. Four-horned sheep rams have a strict dominance hierarchy. Before mating season or "rut", which is from late autumn to early winter, rams try to create a dominance hierarchy to determine access to ewes (female woolly sheep) for mating. European wild sheep rams fight one another to obtain dominance and win an opportunity to mate with females. European wild sheep reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 4 years. Young rams need to obtain dominance before they get a chance to mate, which takes another 3 years for them to start mating. European wild sheep ewes also go through a similar hierarchy process in terms of social status in the first 2 years, but can breed even at low status. Pregnancy in females lasts 5 months, in which they produce one to two offspring. The European wild sheep are vulnerable to many predators such as wolves, lynxes, wolverines, dholes, bears, foxes, leopards, etc. The conservation status of the European wild sheep is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the European wild sheep's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii