5 July: Sheep

On this date in 1996 Dolly, female domestic sheep the first mammal to be cloned, was born. 10 things you might not know about sheep:

1. They have a reputation for being stupid, but they're actually almost as intelligent as Pigs. Studies have found that they can navigate mazes and can recognise the faces of other sheep after two years. However, their ability to recognise each other falls down come shearing time. They don't recognise each other when they've been sheared and will fight for several days to re-establish the pecking order.
2. Sheep have rectangular pupils which grant them a 270 to 320 degree field of vision without turning their heads. By comparison, humans average about 155 degrees.
3. Sheep have an excellent sense of smell with additional scent glands in front of their eyes and on their feet.
4. Sheep are fussy about the vegetation they'll eat and like to pick out the best of it while grazing. To help them do this they have a groove in their upper lip called a philtrum which allows them to separate out the best food.
5. The ancient Egyptians believed sheep were sacred and had them mummified when they died.
6. Studies have found that sheep experience a wide range of emotions. They convey which emotion they are feeling using the position of their ears. There are even such things as optimistic and pessimistic sheep! They can not only tell what another sheep is feeling, but can recognise emotion in human faces and show preference for a smiling person over a frowning one.
7. The fleeces of domestic sheep will keep growing forever if not sheared. Letting them go too long without a haircut is actually bad for them. That doesn't mean they like being sheared, of course. In 2004, there was a Merino ram in New Zealand called Shrek, who ran away and hid in a cave for six years to avoid being sheared. When he was finally caught and sheared there was enough wool on him to make 20 men's suits. A sheep, depending on the breed, can produce between two and 30 pounds of wool a year. One pound of wool can make up to 10 miles of yarn.
8. There are gay sheep. While most species of animal will engage in homosexual behaviour in certain circumstances, such as when there are no individuals of the other gender around, about 8% of rams pair up with their own gender even when there are fertile ewes around, and it appears to be a lifelong preference.
9. If you come across a sheep lying on its back it is probably stuck and unable to right itself. This can happen, especially if the sheep is pregnant or has a heavy fleece. The farming term for this is a cast sheep. The sheep will probably be stressed and panicking and needs help, so if you see one in this predicament and aren't able to help it yourself, alert its owner.
10. Sheep prefer to drink running Water, rather than water from a trough, and prefer to run uphill when being threatened.

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