The Gottlob-Haug family from Lenggries breeds a breed of sheep that is rare in this area.
The Hungarian torch sheep can be seen at the foot of the Grasleitenstein.
Lenggries - The shaggy and conspicuously horned torch sheep are actually rather scared and shy.
But you don't notice much of that when Alex Haug opens the gate to the pasture with the large feed bucket.
Curiously, the animals push their corkscrew-like twisted horns out of the shelter and then follow “their shepherd” closely packed onto the feeding platform in the sloping field.
Primeval and endangered Hungarian sheep breed in Lenggries
There, Alex Haug, who actually works in landscaping and horticulture, tells how it came about that a whole herd of this primeval and very endangered breed of sheep is now at home in the Isarwinkel above Lenggries. "I have been dealing with different sheep breeds and breeding options for a long time - that was such an obsession with me," says Haug. “Then my partner and I saw a report on the Hungarian torch in a television documentary and we were both immediately hooked on these animals.” You can clearly see the enthusiasm in Haug's eyes when he tells this while keeping the animals in check who want to poke him by playing with the horn. But then it was decisivethat the parents-in-law Annelies and Jakob Gottlob wanted to support the boys’s idea and provided a field near the so-called Bauernrast at the foot of the Grasleitenstein. "We are absolutely grateful that we have now been able to implement this idea together," continues Haug. All three generations are involved in the daily care of the animals and control of the pasture - the seven-year-old Korbinian Gottlob is also there when it comes to the sheep.
The thick, felt-like fur makes the animals extremely resistant to cold and harsh weather conditions, which is why they are more likely to be found at higher altitudes in the wild.
In Lenggries, the sheep stay outdoors all year round so that they feel comfortable.
The racket sheep used to be of economic importance to the wool industry.
Since today almost only the finer merino wool is used, the stock has been decreasing.
"Worldwide there are currently only around 3,500 animals, in Germany there are fewer than 300 breeding animals," explains Haug, who has been looking for suitable breeding animals for a long time.
The Gottlob-Haug family is now one of the breeders themselves who have taken on the preservation of this original breed.
No buyers for wool at the moment
At the moment there are five parents and five young animals in Lenggries. The plan is to let the herd continue to grow and to cross animals with those of other breeders again and again. This means that the gene pool remains diverse and robust. Since the interest in the animals is growing, Alex Haug has now also put up an information board on the pasture. Interested parties can use this to find out more and leave a small donation as a contribution to the preservation of the racket sheep. "Breeding is not economically viable," says Haug. “Our aim is to protect the animals and make them better known.” At the moment, there is still no buyer for the wool that is produced once a year when shearing. The family mixes the fur in their own raised beds to improve the soil. There it acts as a fertilizer and water reservoir.“In this way we can use a lot in nature again in a meaningful way,” says Haug and asks visitors to the ragged sheep for one thing: Please admire calmly and from a distance and: Do not feed. (Eva Baumann)
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