Sheep breed
Turcana (Tsurcana)
Turcana (Tsurcana)
The hardy triple-purpose mountain sheep of the Carpathians.
Description1
Romania's most widespread native sheep, formed in the Carpathian mountains. It is kept for milk, meat and wool, and comes in white, grey and black varieties, the white being the most numerous and most selected.
A medium-sized sheep with a narrow, straight head; its coarse, long, water-resistant fleece is used for carpets. Very hardy, it copes with bad weather, walks long distances for forage and builds 5–10 kg of internal fat reserves in autumn.
Its milk is rich (7–8% fat, 6% protein) and very good for cheese and yogurt. Winter feeding costs are 2–3 times lower than for fine-wool breeds, and most breeders prefer purebred animals.
History1
Since prehistory
Domesticated in the Carpathians, where it becomes established as a breed.
Over centuries
Spreads across Central Europe with migrating flocks (Valachian Zackel).
1990s
Its share of Romania's sheep population rises from 40% to 60%.
Breed standard and breed society
The official breed description, breeding goal and herdbook rules are published by the breed's recognised breed society.
- Oklahoma State University – Tsurcana Sheephttps://breeds.okstate.edu/sheep/tsurcana-sheep
Photo gallery
All photos are freely licensed (Wikimedia Commons, Flickr); author, source and licence are shown under each image.
Sources
Accessed: 2026-10-18.