Karakul SheepBy Deborah Y.Hunter

The Karakul HomelandKarakul sheep are considered to be one

of the oldest domesticated breeds. Thereis archaeological evidence of the exis-tence of Persian lambskin as early as 1,400B.C., and carvings of a Karakul type havebeen found on Babylonian temples. Fromtheir ancient homeland of Mesopotamia(modern Iraq) Karakul shepherding spreadthrough Central Asia, staying within thoseareas until the 20th century.

Nine hundred to a thousand milesnorthwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, lies thedesert of Uzbekistan. Sandwiched betweenKazakhstan and Turkmenistan, with capi-tal Tashkent far to the east, this parchedregion is just south of the Aral Sea. Kara-kul sheep in traditional farming systems inUzbekistan were described in 2007.

Here, Karakuls for pelts are kept in aridzones, while those raised for meat andwool are kept on the foothills among zonesof irrigated farming. Lambs born to ewesliving in the desert have thinner skin, mak-ing the pelts more valuable. Single lambsare the desert norm. The better pasturesare grazed by the two dual-purpose Uzbekbreeds of sheep. The habitat of Karakulsis mostly natural grazing on shrub grass,salty grass, or the ephemeral pastures (ofthe other breeds). Karakul sheep forageup to 20 miles each day and are the onlysheep capable of drinking the very saltywater found in ordinary fields there.

Karakul sheep are the main source oflivelihood for more than two million peo-ple in Uzbekistan. Sheep milk, importantfor feeding young children, is also madeinto butter and cheese, meat is dried, fatis processed into tallow. Wool is used forpullovers, carpets, and ropes; dung is usedfor heating. In this country Karakul sheepcan have 15 different colors, 30 shades,four wool wave types, and more than 20wave forms. Karakul sheep are the fam-ily's savings, sold when cash is needed andexchanged for other goods.

Maurice Shelton, Professor Emeritus,Texas A&M University, offered his viewof fat-tail sheep like the Karakul: " ... thismay be the most important type of sheepin the world in terms oftheir contributionto mankind .... [They are] multi-purposeanimals and many people are near self-sufficient based on products obtained from

sheep; but he kept his own Karakuls pure-blooded. We may never know why, butc.c. Young moved around quite a bit,taking descendants of his imported sheepwith him, and farming in Texas, Coahuila,Mexico (along the Texas border), Califor-nia, and Colorado.

Alex Albright, of Dundee, Texas, hadLincoln sheep for about a decade beforec.c. Young moved 13 miles up the roadto the town of Holliday, near WichitaFalls in 1909 and got him involved withKarakuls. In February 1927, Albrightadvertised that he had "sent breeding stockto South America, Nova Scotia, Canada,South Manchuria, Japan, and a third ofthe States." Alex was responsible for thefinal 1929 importation of Karakuls fromGermany, and increased his flock to 1,500even during the Depression. After Alexdied in 1937, his wife, Marie, remainedin the Karakul business until 1949. TheAlbright family had struck black Karakulgold.

Charles de Bremond of Roswell, NewMexico, had ranched over 6,000 headof Shropshire sheep when he financedYoung's 1912 importation. A year earlier,in December 1911, with 100 head of AlexAlbright's Karalinc crosses and a Kara-kul ram purchased for $1,080, Charleswas already well on his way to having thesecond largest U.S. Karakul flock. (For

Karakul ram. Photo by Mark and Janie Cheers.

these sheep."Karakuls in the 20th Century

A little over a hundred years ago, an-cestors of these Central Asian Karakulswere introduced to the United States. Alsoin the early 20th century Karakul sheepwere imported to Germany, and from thereto the German colony of South West Af-rica. SWA (now Namibia) became a majorKarakul-producing country after WorldWar I, with the USSR heavily involved inpelt marketing at the same time.

Karakul sheep came to the U.S. in fourimportations between 1908 and 1929, atotal of87 head (48 rams and 39 ewes); 53from their native land and 34 from othercountries. Not only were the importednumbers small, but there existed additionalpressure to quickly develop a ewe flockfor Persian lamb pelt production. As such,there was much crossbreeding done in theteens and 1920s. The American Karakulwas born.

Dr. c.c. Young, a Russian-born, Amer-ican-educated physician, is credited withthe first three imports, 1908 to 1914, fromthe Bokhara Province of Central Asia. TheUSDA in Beltsville, Maryland conductedresearch on Karakuls. intending to quicklybuild the Persian lamb pelt-producingflock. Dr. Young advocated crossbreed-ing with good (coarse-wool) pelt produc-ers such as Lincoln, Navajo and Cotswold

Page 6 The Livestock Conservancy News. Spring. 2015

perspective, a 1911 Ford Model Twaspriced at $725.) The story continues - deBremond's oldest daughter, Marie, mar-ried Lowry Hagerman, who inherited andembraced these exotic sheep when Charlesdied prematurely after World War I. Lowrywent on to author the landmark KarakulHandbook, dedicated to his father-in-law,and at one point had 4,000 head of Kara-kul sheep.

Karakuls are unique in the sheep worldbecause of their association with the fash-ion industry. They have always been bredfor variable traits in order to adapt quicklyto fashion changes. In the late 1940s whitefurs, and therefore white Karakuls, wereall the rage.

In 1943, there were approximately1,000 U.S. Karakul breeders, 10,000registered head, and 20,000 grades andcommercials, producing about 10,000merchantable pelts per year, all consumedin this country. In 30 years of AmericanKarakul sheep, there had been some badmarketing practices, a few exploiters, anda bit too much competition at times, butAmerican breeders worked through, untilfashion dealt a critical blow.

The Persian lamb pelt market collapsed.Prices had been low since at least 1949and the market for fine ladies coats slippedfurther. The market for Karakul sheepevaporated. Lowry Hagerman's KarakulHandbook was published in 1951. TheFur Farming Journal, which started as theKarakul Journal in 1947, published its lastissue mid-1954. Karakul shepherds had tocome to terms with the fashion economyof boom and bust. The breed went througha metamorphosis in the 1960s and 1970s,kept alive by pockets of dedicated shep-herds.

Back to the Hagerman flock - down toa few hundred, it remained in existenceuntil dispersal by son Bud Hagerman in1996. Still ranged in New Mexico, thedescendants of this pioneer flock playeda couple of significant roles between the1950s and 1980s. One was the role ofKar-akul sheep in movies with settings in theNear or Middle East. " ... the best suited ofany breed found in the U.S." stated Mau-rice Shelton of Texas A&M.

Owning Karakuls has spanned genera-tions in more than one family. The pioneerde Bremond/Hagerman family is thelongest, 85 years (1911-1996), but theyare not alone in long-term admiration ofthis breed. A few current breeders are at

Karakuls are the onlybreed of sheep that canhave wattles. Photo byJulia DeVlieg.

34 years and counting.When Karakuls capti-vate you, it is tough tolet go.Unique and SpecialSheep

Karakuls, the fash-ionista sheep - first furs,then movies. And more,Karakuls have beenstudied for a longer pe-riod of time and in morecountries than just aboutany other breed of sheep.

However, after reading this bit of his to-ry, some skeptics may still be asking "Whythis sheep? The fur history is thought-pro-voking, but doesn't really interest me. Andthe breed's worldwide numbers seem to bedoing okay. So they're an old, desert breedof sheep; what's in it for me?"

In one word - easy. Karakul sheep areunique and amazing animals that can takecare of themselves. They:

o are rugged, disease and parasite-resis-tant. Karakuls are tough sheep. Theycan take what nature throws out, thentake some more.

o have great lamb survival. Karakul ewesare some of the most protective motherson the planet.

o are very lean and superior in flavor withmild, almost sweet meat; even agedanimals.

o have distinctive wool to braid, spin,weave, knit, and felt, in a myriad ofnatural colors.

o are productive foragers and grazers.

Above: Kara-kullambwith largeS-shaped fat-tail. Photo byJulia DeVlieg

Right: BrownKarakul ewewith elf ears.

o breed out of season.o are beautiful, classy-looking sheep.

Karakuls are the only breed of sheepthat can have wattles.They are one of thefew breeds that can have variable ear sizes,ranging from very long to elf size, aboutone to two inches.

They have fat-tails. Ah, unsightly, you(may) say. Think again, though, of thebenefits.

continued on page 9

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KarakulsContinued from page 7

It is not unusual to see American Kara-kuls in good condition with foot-wide tailsfilled with over ten pounds of fat. Ewes gointo their lactation with plenty of fat-richmilk to successfully wean big twin lambsand remain in decent condition them-selves. This is a major advantage of fat-tailsheep.

Karakuls are one of three fat-tail breedsof sheep in the US. Tunis sheep are sec-ond, but with much smaller fat sacks fourto fiive nches. Awassi sheep, new to theUS., are third, with twin ewe lambs bornMarch 2012 via embryo transfer fromAustralia.

Here is the skinny on breeding fat-tailsheep: rare is the ewe who fails to breedbecause her tail is too large. I have seenundocked ewes lift their tail for the ramusing a lower appendage muscle. Karakulrams get the job done, lambs are born.Twinning in American Karakuls is com-mon in some bloodlines, with occasionaltriplets.

A final reference back to the Hager-man flock again by Shelton: "[Karakul]breeding stock from [Hagerman] has beenexported to other countries, specificallyAustralia, for potential use in developingflocks of fat-tail sheep to serve MiddleEast markets." Because of their fat-tailsKarakul sheep have a large ethnic follo~-ing, unique to the cultures of Africa theMiddle East, and Central Asia. This'bringsus back full circle, to homeland. Karakulsheep are inherently independent and self-sufficient. Low-maintenance and reason-ably isolated from other flocks are typical

of farm systems that have characterizedKarakul breeding for centuries.

Karakuls in the 21 st CenturyA group of longtime breeders have

initiated a project, Karakul ShepherdsAlliance (KSA), hoping to counter andreverse what we see as a declining trendin US .Karakul flocks. However, becauseof the easy-care nature ofthese sheep,we suspect there are currently unknownf1ocks.This could be good news for US.Karakul breeders-locating isolated, olderbloodlines would diversify our currentgenepool.

A core group of concerned enthusiastsgot the notion that a website could serveKarakul breeders by providing an easyway to find each other, share informationand advertise. From there we had to decidehow to bring the pureblood, but uncerti-fied Karakul sheep into the registry. Somebreeders would need or want registrationcertificates. Although KSA is planningto engage with DNA testing for Karakulsheep and their bloodlines in the futurewe looked for a faster, more cost-effectivesolution than flock evaluations or peer-review visits.

A landrace is an isolated, locally devel-oped population that has been improvedby traditional agricultural methods. Inplanning how to evaluate landrace flocksto bring unregistered Karakuls into thefold, it became clear to the KSA AdvisoryBoard that a benefit exists to us. As Kara-kul shepherds we believe there is not muchadvantage in out-crossing Karakuls withother breeds of sheep, and if done is easilydiscernible. If you want to retain the twounique Asiatic features, fat-tails and lambpelts, you have to keep the breed pure.

American Karakul lambs are born with thetraditional pelt curls and patterns that wereso sought after for Persian lamb garments.These are immensely attractive but fadequickly. This quality ofthe breed is visu-ally enjoyable, but transient. The life-long,defining characteristic of Karakul sheep isthe fat-tail.

People who breed Karakul sheep wantfat-tails, the bigger the better. There islittle benefit to crossing Karakuls with an-other sheep breed; their uniqueness disap-pears. Fat-tails are easily distinguished, nobreed misidentification is possible. There-fore, KSA settled, for now, on the time-tested method of using pictures and fleecesamples for individual Karakul sheep thatneed registrations. One photo has to be arear view. Another should be a lamb photoshowing the pelt or photos of progenyshowing that the sheep has the genetics toproduce Persian lamb pelts.

KSA wants to establish closer contactwith Karakul shepherds, and all types ofbreeders are welcomed. We would likebreeders to connect with us and tell usabout their sheep. The first Karakul Cen-sus is now on karakulshepherds.org. Ourgoal is to establish a network of conserva-tion-minded Karakul breeders with whomto exchange information and ideas, buyand sell sheep, trade rams. It will be a 21 stcentury marketplace for an ancient breedof sheep .•:.

Deborah Hunter is aformer Karakuland Tunis sheep breeder in Michigan for11 years, now a librarian in the PacificNorthwest. She is Web Shepherd for theKarakul Shepherds Alliance website/blog:karakulshepherds.org/ For a complete listof references used for this article pleaseemail info@karakulshepherds.org

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