Animal profile

Domestic Sheep

Ovis aries

MammaliaUpland pasture, grassland and rangeland

Field profile

Domestic sheep descend from the Asiatic mouflon and were among the earliest livestock domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. Continuous wool growth is a domestic trait; wild sheep shed a coat seasonally. There are more than a thousand recognised breeds, ranging from fine-wool Merinos to hair sheep that grow no fleece at all.

Published field notes

2024-04-11

Domestic Sheep

Sheep can recognise dozens of individual faces

Trained sheep distinguish and remember the faces of other sheep and of humans, retaining the associations for years. In one study they identified photographs of celebrities they had learned, and still picked out familiar faces shown at an angle.

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