by Scott Bailey  

The mouflon is thought to be one of the two wild ancestors from which all domestic sheep breeds are derived. It originated as a wild species in southwest Asia. During the Neolithic period, 8500 –5500 BC, mouflon were introduced to the Greek island of Rhodes, Cyprus, Corsica (now part of France) and Sardinia off the coast of Italy. They became naturalized as wild populations on the mountainous interiors of these islands over a period of several thousand years. Today they are rare inhabitants on these same islands. In the interest of conservation they have been successfully introduced into several other European countries.

Besides being a rare wild species, mouflon have been introduced to game ranches for the purpose of hunting. The mouflon also plays an important role in European identity as evidenced by its appearance on the 1, 2, and 5 cent Euro coins. The mouflon is reddish-brown, with lighter colored underparts, including the chin, belly and extending under the tail. Males are horned while females may be horned or polled. The influence of mouflon on modern sheep is particularly noted in populations of feral sheep, such as the Soay sheep that inhabit islands off the coast of Scotland.

A few modern sheep breeds display the pattern of brown or black upper parts (including the fleece), with light chins, bellies, and occasionally light stripes or crescent markings on the face. This pattern is fairly common in Icelandic sheep where it is simply known as mouflon pattern. It is rarer in Shetland sheep, where it is known by the Old Norse name of gulmoget. In fact, gulmoget pattern was almost unknown in the North American Shetland population until 2005 when several were born at farms in Indiana and Michigan as the result of a new semen importation from Great Britain. Sheltering Pines Aspen, an offspring of one of the AI rams, was brought to Pike Hill farm in New Hampshire in 2006 and sired the first gulmoget Shetland sheep born in New Hampshire in 2007.