Current Range: Hawaiʻi Island

Region of origin: Europe

Date of first introduction: 1791 (Kauaʻi), 1793 (Hawaiʻi Island)

Average size: Female - 20 kg to 40 kg, Male - 25 kg to 60 kg

Litter frequency: 1 to 2 per year

Litter size: 1 to 2 lambs (twinning rare)

Home range: Female - 1.71 ± 0.86 km , Male - 2.07 ± 0.3 km

Diet: Opportunistic grazer (known to browse native shrublands)

2

Feral Sheep (Ovis aries)

References: Scowcroft and Giffin 1983, Tomich 1986, Van Vuren and Coblentz 1989

Identifying Markers

Physical Appearance: Woolly or shaggy coat, often patchy in feral individuals, colors vary (white, brown, black, or mixed), 20 kg to 60 kg, long wooly tail, thick, curved horns in males, and small or absent horn in females.

Tracks: Blunt, heart-shaped prints, about 2.5–3 inches (larger and rounder than mouflon), more common in open grasslands, pastures, and lower elevation dry forests

Scat: Oval to cylindrical pellets, found in loose clusters or scattered piles, frequently near grazing or bedding areas in open fields.

Feeding Signs: Primarily grazers, feeding mostly on grasses and low herbaceous plants, uniformly grazing grasslands near water sources or flat areas (less shrub browsing compared to mouflon).

Environmental Impacts

Feral sheep in Hawaiʻi impact the environment by overgrazing grasses and shrubs, especially in dry forests, grasslands, and open pastures. Similar to mouflon, feral sheep impacts lead to widespread loss of groundcover, soil compaction, and increased erosion. This contributes to the decline of dryland biodiversity and long-term degradation of ecosystems in Hawaiʻi. The large population of feral sheep in some areas on the island of Hawaiʻi also pose a serious threat to human wellbeing due to the prevalence of animals on roads and the risk of car strikes.