Aoudad and admirer

At the Greater Vancouver Zoo, a tired aoudad sits by the fence, eying Rebecca, his observer.

This wild bovine, also known as a Barbary sheep, is native to North Africa, and is found in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and other African countries.

The name Barbary is derived from the name of the Berbers, a group of people who have lived for many centuries in scattered communities across the region. 

The animal has been introduced into Spain and also into the United States, where it now well established in the southwest.