When I was in fourth grade my teacher had a class project preparing skulls from dead animals (ask for details). I've been wanting to prepare a larger animal skull for some time and now had the chance (this one wasn't bleached white). To my surprise I learned a few things in the prep of the head, mainly that there are a lack of front upper teeth. As you feed your sheep you'll see their lowers but that simply presses up against a flat plate on their upper part of the mouth. All of the main chewing action is happening in the back molar area of the mouth. These back teeth are very sharp like knives and interlace within one another to finely cut grass and plant leaves. Some scientists believe that sharp teeth belong to carnivores -- I disagree.

 

The other interesting find was that the horns were a covering over bone. I had always wondered why the horns seemed hot/warm to the touch and if they could ever break when they fight of if I pulled them to hard. The bone underneath the horn is very strong but also highly porous allowing blood to circulate freely and I suspect is a way for the ram to cool down on hot days. The top picture shows the horn covering the bone, the second without the horns.

 

 

 

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