Sheep are usually raised for their wool, and sometimes their meat. But in Senegal, some of these animals are prized as expensive pets—and even compete in beauty pageants.

Photographer Sylvain Cherkaoui first learned about the creatures, known as Ladoum sheep, while hunkered down at his home in Dakar during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. He saw the sheep depicted on billboards, including one that read: “Buy a car and we’ll give you a sheep!”

But the animals in these advertisements were majestic and large, unlike the smaller, more drab sheep that are common in Senegal. These regular sheep are often sacrificed by the majority Muslim population on the holiday feast of Eid-el-Kebir.

Cherkaoui