Sheep - Iran


Aside from the dense forest of Northern Iran, the nation is resigned to an arid climate. This poses problems for Iran’s growing need for clean water. In the past, Iranian communities relied on qanāts to provide water for drinking or irrigation. Qanāts are a combination of vertical shafts and aqueducts built to deliver water from aquifers.

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Ovis aries - Sheep, being ruminates, are even-toed animals. Their weight is carried evenly by the third and fourth toe as opposed to odd toed animals such as horses, whose weight is usually carried solely on the third toe. Sheep were one of the first animals to be domesticated by humans and were able to provide meat, milk, and wool. Sheep wool is currently the most widely used animal fiber in the world. Iran was the first country to make use of the sheep and is one of the world’s leading nations in raising sheep.