Sheep are very gentle, cute and obedient animals, they are not a threat to any animal. Although sheep are animals that are closely related to people's lives, in fact, many knowledge about sheep may not be known to you. Here are some small knowledge about sheep.


Sheep belong to the bovid family, which is really surprising. Sheep is also the most widely distributed and most complex subfamily of the Bovid family. There is a big difference in body size and habits among members, and they can be divided into several different groups. In the Bovid family, the cattle family of the Bovine subfamily are collectively called cattle, the sheep family of the sheep subfamily are collectively called sheep, and the rest are collectively called antelope.


The ancestor of sheep is argali. The sheep kept in captivity by modern humans are domesticated from argali, which is also called big-headed sheep and big-horned sheep, and it is also a larger sheep. Therefore, in terms of classification, sheep belong to the genus of argali, and sometimes the genus of argali is called the genus of sheep.


Don't look at some cartoons in which many goats show neat and white teeth in unison. In fact, sheep's teeth don't grow like this! They have no upper incisors. Not only sheep, but most species in many artiodactyl ruminants do not have upper incisors.


Sheep's pupils are rectangular. When sheep pupils are dilated, they are rectangular in shape and thus have a wide peripheral field of vision. Sheep have a wide viewing angle of 270-320 degrees, while goats are between 320-340 degrees. Animals with rectangular pupils can see better at night because of their larger pupils. Also because of the rectangular pupils, sheep can also close their eyes more tightly during the day when they sleep, so they are better protected from light. The sheep's eyes are positioned to the sides of the head, giving them a wide field of view. This position and structure of the sheep's eye is the result of its evolution as a prey.


Sheep also have aesthetics. In fact, we underestimate the intuition and intelligence of sheep. According to scientific research, sheep have extremely high intelligence and cognitive ability, they can recognize and remember at least 50 different faces, and the memory time can be more than 2 years. And they can also experience a range of emotions including anger, fear, hopelessness, happiness and boredom. Their level of intelligence is strikingly similar to ours. Their world is also a stratified society, and they even identify mates and friends by the looks of other sheep. It turns out that it's not just us humans who have a sense of aesthetics.