Jacobs are horned white sheep with black spots. Horns are usually black, but are sometimes striped black and white. Sometimes a Jacob sheep will have brownish-gray spots instead of black - they are then called 'lilac'.

Jacob sheep have been around since the 1700's and are named after the Bible story of Jacob and his spotted sheep.

Both the males (rams) and females (ewes) have horns, usually two or four but sometimes as many as six. Rams have larger horns than ewes.

Jacobs are endangered - there are estimated to be fewer than 5,000 across the world - and since 1985 all Jacob sheep have to be registered.

Why do we keep Jacob sheep?
Jacob sheep are kept for their wool and their meat, but they also make good pets too. Wool from Jacob sheep has been used to make clothes for people for thousands of years.

Jacob sheep in Britain are often kept as decorative park sheep on country estates.