Sheep (
Ovis aries) are
quadrupedal,
ruminant mammals typically kept as
livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the
even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus
Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to
Ovis aries. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female sheep is referred to as a
ewe , an intact male as a
ram or occasionally a
tup, a
castrated male as a
wether, and a younger sheep as a
lamb.
