Rameses, a UNC-Chapel mascot for nearly a decade, has died

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - A retired mascot of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has died.

The Raleigh News & Observer reports that the 10-year-old Dorset Horn ram died on Monday.

His name was Rameses XXI. And he had spent nine years representing the university at games with his horns painted Carolina blue.

Don Basnight, one of the ram’s handlers, told the newspaper that the ram was a “really beautiful physical specimen, and a very good mascot, and a very good pet.”

Horned Dorset sheep are a rare English breed that is raised for meat and wool. They were imported into the United States in the 1800s and can live 10 to 12 years.

Rameses retired last fall. He lived the rest of his days on Hogan’s Magnolia View Farm just north of Carrboro.

His successor is a young ram named Otis.