Dumba Sheep: A resilient fat-tailed breed

Dumba sheep, also known as fat-tailed or rump tail sheep Dumba sheep are distinguished by their large, fat-filled tail or rump (the back end), which is distinct from conventional sheep. Dumba sheep concentrate fat in their tails, keeping the rest of their bodies lean. It is believed that fat-tailed sheep were bred to survive the tough conditions of the grasslands and deserts in Central Asia around 3,000 BC. This happened thousands of years after their ancestors, the thin-tailed sheep, were first domesticated. Over time, these fat-tailed sheep spread east to northern China and west to South Africa. At present, fat-tailed sheep are found in Iran, Israel, Jordon, Syria, Turkey, Indonesia, Lebanon, Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc. (Pourlis, 2011). More than 96% of Iranian sheep are fat-tailed and the remaining 4% are thin-tailed and semi-fat-tailed (Kiyanzad, 2005), around 80% of sheep population in China are fat-tailed. Interestingly, some fat-tailed sheep of unknown breeds are found in urban and peri-urban areas of Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh in India. Most of these sheep are raised in stalls for meat production and are sold in markets during festivals.