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This fiber comes from the United States.

The Tunis is one of the oldest breeds developed in the United States. The breed takes its name from foundation stock originating in the Tunisian province of North Africa. Tunis were first imported to North American in 1799, and references to this breed appear in the journals and letters of many of the leading agriculturists of the 18th century, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington Custis and others. Tunis became very popular and spread to most regions of the Eastern seaboard of the United States, being especially adapted to the hot, humid environment of the southern portion of the coast. During the Civil War, nearly all Tunis sheep in the South were destroyed but for one flock, hidden near the city of Columbia, South Carolina.

Tunis sheep have a striking appearance characterized by creamy, ivory-colored wool, copper-red colored faces & legs, pendulous ears, and minor fat deposits over the dock area (hence, the term "fat-tailed sheep" which they are also known by).

Tunis wool is a lustrous 24 to 30 microns, long-stapled 4 to 6 inches that has found favor in many fiber and textile enterprises. Ewes typically shear a fleece weighing 6 to 9 pounds of this 3/8th's blood, 56 to 58 spinning count wool.

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy Status: Watch. For more information, please see: http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/tunis.html