Ystel sheep

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Ystel sheep
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Division: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Genus: Ovis
Species: O. ystelis
Binomial name
Ovis ystelis

Ystel sheep (Ovis ystelis) is a kind of quadrupedal, ruminant mammal endemic to Ystel, especially the eastern part of Mermelia, Ystel sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates and belong to the genus Ovis. The total number of Ystel sheep is low, and it is hard to spot them in wild, but they are currently not facing any extinction threats.

Ystel sheep look like domestic sheep, but are less woolly; however, the wool of Ystel sheep is much finer than that of domestic sheep. The wool can be used to make Ystel shawl, which are very thin (so thin that they are semi-transparent under lights) but can effectively keep the body of the wearers warm. However, due to the rarity of Ystel sheep, Ystel shawl is very expensive.

Traditionally, shepherds in Ystel countries herded wild Ystel sheep into fences in winter, shearing their wool, taking care of them, then released them when the weather became warmer. However, unlike Ovis aries, the domestic sheep, Ystel sheep are never domesticated, mainly because they reject reproducing in captivity. Some researchers have cross-bred Ystel sheep and domestic sheep. While Ystel sheep-domestic sheep hybrids are as tamed as domestic sheep, the quality of the wool of Ystel sheep-domestic sheep hybrids is not as good as that of pure Ystel sheep, which greatly reduces its commercial value, leading researchers to eventually abandon the idea of breeding Ystel sheep-domestic sheep hybrids.