North GroundHuntNorth Ground Hunt — return to North Ground
Species authority page

Feral sheep

Ovis aries · Wild sheep · Big game

Feral sheep (Ovis aries): Head-body 1,200-1,800 mm, shoulder 650-1,270 mm; ewes two-thirds to three-quarters the size of rams. Coloration from milky white to dark brown and black; wool, horns and external ears vary by breed. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the feral sheep map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Ovis aries
Family
Bovidae
In North America
Introduced
Range
Domestic sheep are established worldwide as introduced animals. DLNR lists feral sheep and mouflon-feral hybrid sheep on Hawaii Island (Mauna Kea); NatureServe records Ovis aries in Wyoming and Hawaii.
Biology

How to identify it

Head-body 1,200-1,800 mm, shoulder 650-1,270 mm; ewes two-thirds to three-quarters the size of rams. [1][2][3][4]

Coloration from milky white to dark brown and black; wool, horns and external ears vary by breed. [1][2][3][4]

Vertical cleft in a narrow, short-haired snout. [1][2][3][4]

Domestic-derived; goats can be told from sheep by their short, upward-pointing tails (Pacific Science review of feral goats). [1][2][3][4]

Compared with the mouflon: European mouflon has a reddish-brown summer coat with whitish saddle patch and rams' helix horns; hybrids with feral sheep occur on Mauna Kea. [1][2][3][4]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a feral sheep before you act. Compared with the mouflon: European mouflon has a reddish-brown summer coat with whitish saddle patch and rams' helix horns; hybrids with feral sheep occur on Mauna Kea.[1][2][3][4]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Extremely versatile: desert, grassland, chaparral, forest and mountain. [1][2][3][4]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Strong flocking instinct, groups up to 1,000 or more, with dominance hierarchies [1][2][3][4]

Distressed when separated, often calling and pawing the ground [1][2][3][4]

Grazers that alternate feeding and rumination [1][2][3][4]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Domestic sheep are established worldwide as introduced animals. DLNR lists feral sheep and mouflon-feral hybrid sheep on Hawaii Island (Mauna Kea); NatureServe records Ovis aries in Wyoming and Hawaii.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

  2. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  3. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources

  4. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources