Karakul or Qaraqul (named after Qorakoʻl, a city in

Bukhara Region Bukhara Region is a region of Uzbekistan located in the southwest of the country. The Kyzyl Kum desert takes up a large portion of its territory. It borders Turkmenistan, Navoiy Region, Qashqadaryo Region, a small part of the Xorazm Region, a ...

in Uzbekistan) is a breed of domestic fat-tailed sheep which originated in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. Some archaeological evidence points to Karakul sheep being raised there continuously since

1400 BC The 1400s BC is a decade which lasted from 1409 BC to 1400 BC. Events and trends * April 16, 1409 BC Lunar Saros 38 begins. * 1400 BC—Palace of Minos destroyed by fire. * 1400 BC—Estimation: Thebes, capital of Egypt becomes the largest ...

. Hailing from the desert regions of

, Karakul sheep are renowned for their ability to

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

and thrive under extremely harsh living conditions. They can survive severe drought conditions because they store reserves for lean times as fat in their tails. Karakul are also raised in large numbers in Namibia, having first been brought there by German colonists in the early 20th century. They are currently listed as endangered.

Use by humans

Karakul sheep are a multi-purpose breed, kept for

milking Milking is the act of removing milk from the mammary glands of cattle, water buffalo, humans, goats, sheep, and, more rarely, camels, horses, and donkeys. Milking may be done by hand or by machine, and requires the animal to be currently or rec ...

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

, pelts, and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

. As a fat-tailed breed, they have a distinctive meat. Many adult Karakul are double-coated; in this case,

spinner Spinner may refer to: Technology * Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in ...

s separate the coarse guard hair from the undercoat. Karakul is a relatively coarse fiber used for outer garments,

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

s and for

felting Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood pulp–b ...

. The meat from the sheep, and especially the fat from the tail end, is an important ingredient in

Uzbek cuisine Uzbek cuisine shares the culinary traditions of peoples across Central Asia. Grain farming is widespread in Uzbekistan, making breads and noodles an important part of the cuisine, which has been described as "noodle-rich". Description Bread (''n ...

Karakul pelts

Very young or even fetal Karakul lambs are prized for pelts. Newborn karakul sheep pelts are called karakul (also spelled ''caracul''), ''swakara ''(portmanteau of ''South West Africa Karakul''), ''astrakhan'' (Russian and French), ''Persian lamb'', ''agnello di Persia'' (Italian), ''krimmer'' (Russian) and ''garaköli bagana'' (Turkmen). Sometimes the terms for newborn lambs' and fetal lambs' pelts are used interchangeably. The newborn lambs have a tight, curly pattern of hair. The lambs must be under three days old when they are killed, or they will lose their black color and soft, tightly wound coils of fur. Dark colors are dominant and lambs often darken in color as they age. Fetal karakul lamb pelts are called broadtail, ''Breitschwanz'' (German), and ''karakulcha''. Fetal karakul lambs are harvested through miscarriages, induced early delivery or by killing the mother sheep and removing the fetus. Rather than killing healthy female sheep, farmers will kill older sheep that have already given birth many times. People use the lamb pelts to create various clothing items, such as the

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

or karakul hat. The pelts have also been used in

haute couture (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term ''haute couture'' generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sheep breeds Sheep breeds originating in Uzbekistan Animal breeds on the GEH Red List