the even-toed ungulates. There are around 1.2 billion domestic sheep as of 2019, making them easily the most common species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe ( ); an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup; a castrated male as a wether; and a young sheep as a lamb.

Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest