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Triple K “expedition” (#45 in teaser series: tip-top bottoms, Kashgar)

 

The above photo was taken in Kashgar’s livestock market – a fascinating place, which Pelican Yoga will eventually explore in much more detail.

The particular characteristics that define “premium” sheep are partly environmental, and partly cultural; the “best” sheep on offer in China doubtless look “highly exotic” to most Australians.

To most Chinese people, Australia’s highly-prized merinos would doubtless appear equally  “strange”.

So-called “fat-tailed” sheep (fat-rumped sheep would be a better tag) comprise circa 25% of the global market’s sheep population; they make up about 80% of China’s…and almost all of the husbanded/herded sheep in China’s northwest.

They are well-adapted to extreme environments, most especially to those both “high” and “dry”.

The fat in their rumps is analogous to that in camels’ humps; it has long been highly prized by humans.

Their meat – as expertly prepared, Uyghur-style – is absolutely delicious.

(photo ©️ Doug Spencer, taken in Kashgar’s livestock market on 26 May 2024)

 

 

 

 

Published in Americas and Eurasia and Africa nature and travel photographs