Bubba the Outlaw Sheep, as he is known, is a Barbados-Mouflon ram, a stubborn breed with curled horns that looks a lot like a goat, and he will be auctioned off by the Durham Sheriff’s Department at the end of this month. 

No one knows where Bubba came from or why he decided to stay. But stay he did, roaming Durham County near Southpoint mall for four months before he was finally caught.

“He literally just showed up one day in this woman’s backyard,” said Paul Sherwin, a deputy and the sheriff’s public information officer. She told the sheriff’s department that it was cute at first, but she called it in after Bubba stayed a few days.

Citizens quickly adopted their new four-legged neighbor. According to The News & Observer, one began leaving out dog food for him, while another christened him with his name. He was also allowed to drink out of their birdbaths.

However, the sheriff’s department was still committed to catching the creature. Unfortunately for it, he proved extremely quick and able to jump.

“He can jump a four-foot horse fence with no problem,” Dave Artigues said. “He’s out of control.”

Artigues is the owner of Elodie Farms where Bubba will be auctioned off, and has been helping manage and care for the sheep since he was caught. Bubba was put into Artigues’ custody because of a relationship Artigues formed with animal control officers six years ago. He acquired that relationship after working closely with them when his farm saw the first recorded case of a rabid donkey in the history of North Carolina.

Because of Bubba’s abilities, cornering the ram took longer than anticipated.

“It was a long process,” Sherwin said. “Initially it just started with going out and trying to capture him like we would a stray dog or anything — a couple of deputies with a catch pole.”

After finding that it was impossible to get close enough to Bubba to catch him, the sheriff’s department called in a large animal vet, who brought tranquilizers and nets, and a lasso expert. Bubba easily dodged them both.

“At that point we just put the brakes on trying to capture him because he wasn’t causing any problems and it was consuming too many resources,” Sherwin said.

The quest to catch the ram was back on several weeks later when Bubba took to living on Glover Road, causing thousands of dollars of damage to one resident’s property. 

“What the deputies did was they basically built a custom pen,” Sherwin said.

The pen was eight feet by eight feet with four-foot walls, which were further topped with fencing so that he couldn’t jump out. Deputies went out to the property for several days, getting Bubba used to eating apples and sweet corn out of the pen.

On the third or fourth day, the deputies waited for Bubba with a rope tied to the gate so that they could quickly close it behind him. Even after catching him, they had to create a tunnel from the trap to the trailer used to transport him so he wouldn’t get away again

Bubba is currently comfortably housed in a tobacco barn with a yard — surrounded by a fence that is higher than four feet, of course. He spends his days running inside and outside to avoid people.

“Bubba’s a little skiddish,” Artigues said. “He’s used to running around Durham and RTP and Chapel Hill, and he’s ready to get out and do some more running.”

Artigues said the ram was very sweet, just scared of people. He also had a taste for their gardens, as his favorite food by far is shrubbery.

The auction is taking place because of a state law.

“He’s considered a livestock animal, which prevents us from adopting him out like we would a domestic animal,” Sherwin said. They’ve gone through this process before: They recently auctioned off a pot-bellied pig for $5. 

Bubba is in high demand from area farmers. The only reason he hasn’t been sold yet is because there is a law requiring him to have 30 days of confinement and 20 days of auction notice before being auctioned.

“There seems to be a lot of interest in his welfare,” Sherwin said. “We’ll see how much of that translates into the auction. We have no idea what to expect at this point, as far as turnout or how much he’ll sell for.”

“I think it’s just kind of a cool thing, that you have this animal that’s been running around Durham and not really causing any real trouble or putting people in harm’s way but he’s just doing his own thing,” Artigues said. 

Bubba will be auctioned off Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. at Elodie Farms. Anyone is welcome to bid and there is no minimum.

“We’re going to try to make it a kind of family-day type thing,” Antigues said. “Come see the goats and the pigs and the animals, and check out the farm and make sure Bubba goes to a good home.”

However, if it’s left up to Bubba, he’ll be wild and running free again any day now.

“You know, Bubba is a very energetic young guy, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets loose again, given the opportunity,” Artigues said.