10 Facts about sheep
Did you know, that sheep are very gentle animals?
- Sheep are herbivores, which means their diet does not include meat. They typically eat seeds, grass and plants.
- Lambs can walk just minutes after they are born, though they are often dependent on their mothers for the first four to six months of their lives.
- Not only can sheep recognise up to 50 other sheep faces and remember them for 2 years, but they can also recognise human faces.
- When sheep experience stress or isolation, they show signs of depression similar to those that humans show by hanging their heads and avoiding positive actions.
- Like various other species including humans, sheep make different vocalisations to communicate different emotions. They also display and recognise emotion by facial expressions.
- Sheep are intelligent, with impressive memory and recognition skills. They build friendships, stick up for one another in fights, and feel sad when their friends are sent to slaughter.
- Sheep are able to experience emotions such as fear, anger, rage, despair, boredom, disgust and happiness.
- Sheep are very gentle animals and were one of the first animals to be domesticated.
- They can differentiate facial expressions, and prefer a smile to a frown.
- Sheep have excellent peripheral vision. Their large, rectangular pupils allow them to see almost 360 degrees. In fact, they can see behind themselves without turning their heads!
