Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species, in everyday usage it almost always refers to the Ovis aries. Numbering a little over 1 billion, domestic sheep are the most numerous species in their genus.
Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purpose, sheep are raised for fleece, meat(lamb or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used of any animal, and is usually harvested by sheering(shaving). Its meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones. Sheep continue to be important for wool and meet today, and are also raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science.
A sheep makes a bleating sound, and its baby can identify its mother by her bleat. Lamb is the lowest in cholesterol of all red meats there in the market. Sheep have naturally occuring oil in their wool called "lanolin". This oil makes the wool water repellent and prevents the cold rain and snow from penetrating to the sheep's skin.
Sheep have no top front teeth but the roof of their mouth is hard. This permits sheep to eat vegetation close to the ground and prevents them from pulling up plant roots. One difference of a goat to a sheep is that sheep are grazers, while goats are browsers. This means that goats prefer to eat leaves from trees and small shrubs, whereas sheep prefer grass.
BLACK SHEE
P
Since early times black sheep were considered less valuable than white ones because their wool could not be readily dyed. Shepherds also belived that black sheep frightened the other sheep. Fortunately, they were rare, as most domestic sheep range from white to light brown. By the late 18th century, the expression black sheep came to be applied to disgraced people.
SHEEPSKIN
Most people still refer to diplomas as sheepskin, a slang coined by American students. But the fact is most diplomas are no longer made of genuine parchment or sheepskin. What graduates now grasp with joy is plain heavy paper.
INSOMNIAC'S PARADISE
The Falkland Islands, a group of British isles east of the southern tip of South America, is an insomniac's paradise. Here the human population of just over 1,900 can count up to 695,000 sheep - a ratio of 1,916 sheep for every person. In New Zealand the ration is 20 to 1, and in Australia it's 10 to 1.
Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purpose, sheep are raised for fleece, meat(lamb or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used of any animal, and is usually harvested by sheering(shaving). Its meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones. Sheep continue to be important for wool and meet today, and are also raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science.
A sheep makes a bleating sound, and its baby can identify its mother by her bleat. Lamb is the lowest in cholesterol of all red meats there in the market. Sheep have naturally occuring oil in their wool called "lanolin". This oil makes the wool water repellent and prevents the cold rain and snow from penetrating to the sheep's skin.
Sheep have no top front teeth but the roof of their mouth is hard. This permits sheep to eat vegetation close to the ground and prevents them from pulling up plant roots. One difference of a goat to a sheep is that sheep are grazers, while goats are browsers. This means that goats prefer to eat leaves from trees and small shrubs, whereas sheep prefer grass.
BLACK SHEE
PSince early times black sheep were considered less valuable than white ones because their wool could not be readily dyed. Shepherds also belived that black sheep frightened the other sheep. Fortunately, they were rare, as most domestic sheep range from white to light brown. By the late 18th century, the expression black sheep came to be applied to disgraced people.
SHEEPSKIN
Most people still refer to diplomas as sheepskin, a slang coined by American students. But the fact is most diplomas are no longer made of genuine parchment or sheepskin. What graduates now grasp with joy is plain heavy paper.
INSOMNIAC'S PARADISE
The Falkland Islands, a group of British isles east of the southern tip of South America, is an insomniac's paradise. Here the human population of just over 1,900 can count up to 695,000 sheep - a ratio of 1,916 sheep for every person. In New Zealand the ration is 20 to 1, and in Australia it's 10 to 1.
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