Best sheep in Senegal competition – in pictures

Kids gather around the pen of winning ram, Boy Serrere Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Supporters of Boy Serrere wear matching T-shirts and carry placards with his image while watching the national final Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Djibi Seck, left, guides ram Alassane into position next to the other competitors after being scored by the judges Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

The panel of judges holds up scores for ram Salmane after the ring walk. Salmane finished third in the competition Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

A traditional Senegalese mystic in a lion costume, catches a dancer dressed as a ram, during the national final of the televised sheep reality competition Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Competing ram Alassane waits with his caretaker as judges decide the results of the national final. Alassane finished second in this year's competition Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Competitor Boy Serere waits in his stall before the regional final of the Khar Bii competition in Dakar, which seeks to find the finest sheep in Senegal before the Eid al-Adha festival. Boy Serere went on to win his regional and will advance to the national final Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Djibi Seck leads ram Abdoulaye into the ring during the Fann area regional final of the Khar Bii competition in Dakar, Senegal. Abdoulaye went on to win his regional and will advance to the national final Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Dogo Ndiaye displays ram Papis General for the panel of four judges during a regional final Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

The panel of four judges presents its scores for a ram contestant, during the SICAP neighbourhood regional final of the Khar Bii competition Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

A spectator uses a tablet to photograph breeders and their rams as the competitors await the judges' final decisions Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

A traditional dancer dressed as a ram performs during the SICAP neighbourhood regional final of the Khar Bii competition, which seeks to find the best sheep in Senegal before the Eid al-Adha festival in Dakar Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Dogo Ndiaye strokes ram Papis General as competitors await the judges' final decisions Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Ma Ibra Diagne presents ram Sall in front of the panel of judges during the regional final Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

A sheep nuzzles the hand of prizewinning sheep breeder Ousmane Ndiaye as he explains the pedigree of each of his dozen animals in the sheltered rooftop pens he has specially constructed for them on top of his home in Dakar, Senegal Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Sheep watch through a gate as the youngest animals are fed from a separate bowl in breeder Ousmane Ndiaye's pens Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Abdou Aziz Mare uses an umbrella to protect his sheep Dogo from the sun, as he walks him around the ring. Mare, who spends up to four hours a day with his sheep, explained that this was Dogo's first exposure to Dakar's blazing sun and his first descent from the sheltered rooftop terrace where he was born and raised Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Spectators look on as handlers coax ram Goor around the ring Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP