Karakul Sheep

A breed of domestic fat-tailed sheep, also spelled Qaraqul, that originated in Central Asia and takes its name from Qorakol, a town in the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan; archaeological evidence suggests the breed has lived in the desert regions of Central Asia since around 1400 BC. Karakul sheep are renowned for foraging and surviving under extremely harsh conditions, storing fat reserves in their tails to endure severe droughts, and the breed adapted well after German colonists introduced it to Namibia in the early twentieth century, though it is now considered endangered there. It is kept for milk, meat, pelts and wool; the meat, especially the tail fat, features prominently in Uzbek cuisine, the wool is relatively coarse but suits outer garments, carpets and felting, and the pelts of very young or fetal lambs are prized in the fur industry for clothing and high fashion use.