Jacob sheep---多角绵羊

The Jacob sheep is a rare breed of small, piebald (colored with white

spots), polycerate (multi-horned) sheep. Jacobs may have from two to six horns, but most

commonly have four. The most common color is black and white. Jacobs are usually

raised for their wool, meat, and hides. They are also kept as pets and ornamental animals,

and have been used as guard animals to protect farm property from theft or vandalism

and defend other livestockagainst predators.

雅各伯绵羊是稀有的小型，花斑，多角绵羊品种。可以有两到六个角，但最常见的是四个角。最常见的颜是黑和白。雅可布可以提供毛，肉，皮，他们也作为和观赏动物宠物饲养，还可以被用作守卫动物保护农场财产被盗或破坏，还能驱赶垂涎家畜的肉食动物。

Generally referred to as an unimproved or heirloom breed (one that has survived with

little human selection), the Jacob is descended from an ancient Old World breed of sheep,

although its exact origins remain unclear. Spotted polycerate sheep were documented in

England by the mid–17th century, and were widespread a century later. Unlike most other

old world breeds, the Jacobs of North America have not undergone

extensive cross-breeding and selective breeding; their body habitus resembles that of

a goat. Relative to their American counterparts, British Jacobs tend to be larger and

heavier, and have lost many of their original characteristics through artificial selection.

作为一个觉原始的品种，雅各伯绵羊是出身于旧大陆的绵羊品种，虽然其确切的起源尚不清楚。花斑多角绵羊确切的记录是在17世纪中期的英格兰，其后的一个时机它被广泛传播。不像其他大多数旧世界的品种，美国北部的雅各伯绵羊没有经过广泛的杂交育种和选育；他们的体质类似于山羊。相对于他们的美国同行，英国雅各伯绵羊由于人工选择，体型越来越大，越来越重，失去了很多原始特征。

历史

雅各伯绵羊的起源是模糊的，但它肯定是一个非常古老的品种。花斑绵羊在人类历史上多有记载，频繁出现在远东，中东，和地中海地区的艺术作品中。某种花斑绵羊品种，大约三千年前出现在中东Levant，即现在的叙利亚。

Among the many accounts of ancient breeds of piebald sheep is the story of Jacob from

the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. According to the Book

of Genesis (Genesis 30:31–43), in what may be the earliest recorded attempt at selective

breeding,[3] Jacob took every speckled and spotted sheep from his father-in-law's (Laban's)

flock and bred them. The Jacob is named for the Biblical figure of Jacob.[1][4] The resulting

breed may have accompanied the westward expansion of human civilization through

Northern Africa, Sicily, Spain and eventually England.[2] However, it was not until the 20th

century when the breed acquired the name "Jacob sheep".[5]

花斑绵羊品种的众多古代记录中有着圣经的雅各伯故事。据创世记（创30:31–43），这可能是最早选育尝试的记录，[ 3 ]雅各伯把每一只斑点绵羊从他的岳父的羊中分出饲养。雅各伯羊因此得名。[ 1 ] [ 4 ]由此产生的品种可能伴随着人类文明西进，扩张至非洲北部，西西里岛，最终到达西班牙和英格兰。[ 2 ]然而，直到20世纪，这个品种才取名“雅各伯绵羊”。[ 5 ]

A limited amount of circumstantial evidence from the historical record lends support to a

related theory that the Jacob is a descendant of the fat-tailed sheep, another ancient

breed from Mesopotamia.[6] The earliest records of the fat-tailed sheep are found in

the Sumerian cities of ancient Uruk (3000 BC) and Ur (2400 BC) on stone vessels

and mosaics. Another early reference to this breed is found in the Book of

Leviticus (Leviticus 3:9), where an animal sacrifice is described which includes the tail fat

of sheep. Despite the scant evidence from the historical record, a recent genetic

analysis has provided compelling evidence supporting a direct link between the Jacob and

certain unimproved breeds in Southwest Asia and Africa rather than other British

breeds.[6] Using retroviruses as genetic markers, the authors found that sheep dispersed

across Eurasiaand Africa via at least two separate migratory episodes. Descendants of

the first migrations include the Mouflon, as well as other unimproved breeds, such as

the North Ronaldsay sheep, Soay sheep, and the northern European short-tailed sheep.

A later migratory episode shaped the great majority of present-day breeds.

有历史记录表明，雅各伯绵羊是大尾羊（fat-tailed sheep，一种来自美索不达米亚的古老品种）的后代。大尾羊的记载最早出现在古代苏美尔城市Uruk (公元前3000)和 Ur (公元前2400)的石头花瓶和马赛克中。另一个早期记录发现于《利未记》（利未记3:9），依次献祭的动物名单中出现了大尾羊。尽管历史记录稀少，最近基因研究证明和其他英国羊种相比，雅各伯绵羊基因更接近西南亚和非洲的原始品种。利用逆转录病毒作为遗传标记，研究者发现分布在欧亚大陆和非洲的绵羊至少有两次独立的迁徙扩散。第一次扩散的后裔包括摩弗伦羊，以及其他原始品种，如北罗纳德塞羊，索伊羊，和北欧短尾羊。后一次扩散形成了绝大多数现代品种。

Some people believe that the Jacob is a descendant of a subarctic breed of sheep

introduced by Vikings to the British Isles during the Middle Ages.[7] Norsemen are

believed to have introduced certain robust types of sheep to Northern Europe and the

British Isles between the late eighth century to the middle of the eleventh century.[8]

However, the sheep introduced by the Norse were of a short-tailed variety native to an

area stretching from the British Isles to the Baltic, known as the northern European

short-tailed sheep. In fact, all Scandinavian breeds belong to the Northern European

short-tailed group of sheep.[8] The northern European short-tailed sheep are a group of

sheep breeds and landraces which includes the Finnsheep, Icelandic, Romanov,

Shetland, Spaelsau, and several other breeds. The Jacob bears little resemblance to

these.[8] The Jacob is a long-tailed breed, and is therefore unlikely to be related to any

breeds introduced by the Vikings

有些人认为雅各伯绵羊是北极区绵羊的后代，中世纪时由维京人带入英国。古挪威人被认为在8世纪晚期至十一世纪中期向北欧和英国引进了一些强壮的绵羊品种。然而挪威人引进的绵羊是短尾绵羊，分布变化于英国到波罗的海，被称为北欧短尾羊。事实上，所有的斯堪的纳维亚羊种都属于北欧短尾羊类型。北欧短尾羊包括以下品种和地方品种：芬兰羊、冰岛羊、诺曼诺夫羊、设得兰羊、挪威羊以及其他一些品种。雅各伯绵羊和它们没有多少相似之处，是一种长尾羊，不太可能是维京人带来的品种。

One persistent legend holds that the Jacob washed ashore from shipwrecks in England

after the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588.[2] Despite the fact that there is little if

any reliable evidence to support this claim, the Jacob was referred to as the "Spanish

sheep" for much of its early recorded history. It has been bred in England for at least

350 years,[3][4][10] and spotted sheep were widespread in England by the mid–18th century.

By that time, Jacobs were often kept as ornamental animals grazed in parks, which

probably kept the breed extant.[1] In recent years, Jacobs have been used as guard sheep

in Gloucestershire, in the manner of guard dogs, to protect farm property from vandalism.

长期以来有种说法雅各伯绵羊是从1588年西班牙无敌舰队船只残骸中登陆英国的。尽管事实上几乎没有任何可靠的证据支持这种说法，雅各伯绵羊在许多早期历史记载中被称为“西班牙羊”。它在英国被饲养至少350年。18世纪中期斑点绵羊在英国扩散开来。这时，雅各伯绵羊经常作为观赏动物放牧在公园中，这样保存了它们的种。今天，雅各伯绵羊在格洛斯特郡（Gloucestershire）作为警卫羊使用,用以保护农场财产。

Jacobs were first imported into parks and zoos of North America in the early 20th

century.[10] Some individuals acquired them from zoos in the 1960s and 1970s, but the

breed remained rare in America until the 1980s. Most of today’s population of American

Jacobs is descended from those imported at that time. The Jacob Sheep Breeders

Association (JSBA), organized in 1989, was the first breed association to be established

in North America.[14] Jacobs have become popular among small flock holders as well as

handspinners and weavers.[1]

雅各伯绵羊在20世纪早期输入至北美的动物园和公园。在20世纪六七十年代，有些人从公园获得它们，但是直到80年代它们在美国依然稀有。今天大部分雅各伯绵羊是那时输入的后代。雅各伯绵羊 (JSBA)，建立于1989年，是北美的第一个育种者协会。雅各伯绵羊在一些小体比如手工纺纱工和纺织工间变得较为流行。

保护现状

Conservation charities such as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) of

North America and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) of the United Kingdom are

responsible for the documentation and preservation of rare breeds of domesticated

animals, including the Jacob. There are also several breed registries whose only focus is

the Jacob, such as the American Jacob Sheep Registry and the Jacob Sheep Breeders

Association. In the United States, identification of Jacobs as endangered and ensuing

registration of sheep began in 1985. As of 2009, the ALBC has listed the American

population of the Jacob as a "threatened breed" and a conservation priority.[1] The breed

is estimated to have fewer than 1,000 annual registrations in the United States and a

global population of less than 5,000. Identifying purebreds is a continual challenge for

American breeders, and the marketing of crossbreeds (such as the Jacob-Dorset) as

purebred Jacobs to unsuspecting buyers has presented a significant obstacle to the

conservation of the American population.[1] However, the RBST in the United Kingdom do

not view the Jacob as being at risk as there are in excess of 3,000 registered breeding

females.[15]

保护机构有北美美国家畜品种保护协会（ALBC）国和英国珍稀动物生存信托（RBST），他们负责文档和驯养动物稀有品种的保存，包括雅各伯绵羊。也有几个专注于雅各伯绵羊的机构，如美国雅各伯羊登记协会（the American Jacob Sheep Registry）和雅各伯绵羊育种者协会（the Jacob Sheep Breeders Association）。1986年，在美国，雅各伯绵羊被鉴定并随后登记为濒危品种。在2009年，ALBC将雅各伯绵羊列入“受威胁品种”和优先保护计划中。[ 1 ]此一品种估计在美国不超过1000只和全球不足5000只。识别纯种是美国育种家的一个持续的挑战，市场上将杂交品种（如雅各伯赛特）作为纯种雅各伯绵羊卖给不知情的买家给保护计划带来了重大的障碍。[ 1 ]然而，英国珍稀动物生存信托（RBST）并不认为雅各伯绵羊处于危中，因为哪儿有超过3000头雅各伯母羊注册养殖。[ 15 ]

生理特性

概述

The Jacob is a small, multi-horned, piebald sheep that resembles a goat in its

conformation. However, it is not the only breed that can produce polycerate or piebald

offspring. Other polycerate breeds include the Hebridean, Icelandic, Manx Loaghtan, and

the Navajo-Churro, and other piebald breeds include the Finnsheep and the West African

Dwarf.