Names
The binomial name Ammotragus lervia derives from the Greek ammos ("sand", referring to the sand-coloured coat) and tragos ("goat"). Lervia derives from the wild sheep of northern Africa described as "lerwee" by Rev. T. Shaw in his "Travels and Observations" about parts of Barbary and Levant.
The Spanish named this sheep the arruis, and the Spanish Legion even used it as a mascot for a time.
Aoudad is the name for this sheep used by the Berbers, a North African people, and it is also called arui and waddan (in Libya).
Read more about this topic: Barbary Sheep
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)