Domestic sheep
hideDomestic sheep (Ovis aries) are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals 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 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 purposes, 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 shearing. Ovine meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones. Sheep continue to be important for wool and meat today, and are also occasionally raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science.
Sheep husbandry is practised throughout the majority of the inhabited world, and has been fundamental to many civilizations. In the modern era, Australia, New Zealand, the southern and central South American nations, and the British Isles are most closely associated with sheep production. Sheep-raising has a large lexicon of unique terms which vary considerably by region and dialect. Use of the word sheep began in Middle English as a derivation of the Old English word scēap; it is both the singular and plural name for the animal. A group of sheep is called a flock, herd or mob. Adult female sheep are referred to as ewes, intact males as rams or tups, castrated males as wethers, and younger sheep as lambs. Many other specific terms for the various life stages of sheep exist, generally related to lambing, shearing, and age. Being a key animal in the history of farming, sheep have a deeply entrenched place in human culture, and find representation in much modern language and symbology. As livestock, sheep are most-often associated with pastoral, Arcadian imagery. Sheep figure in many mythologies—such as the Golden Fleece—and major religions, especially the Abrahamic traditions. In both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals. In contemporary English language usage, people who are timid, easily led, or stupid are often compared to sheep.
For more information about Domestic sheep, read the full article at
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News tagged with sheep
Australian scientists aim to reduce sheep burps
Nov 29, 2009 |
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Australian scientists are working to breed a sheep that belches less, as they look for ways to reduce harmful methane emissions from the country's woolly flocks, a researcher said Sunday.
Climate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep
Jul 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Milder winters are causing Scotland's wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body, according to new research due to be published in ...
Scientists use retroviruses to unravel woolly history of sheep domestication
Apr 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of Glasgow have unravelled the woolly history of sheep domestication by examining retroviruses preserved in the animal’s DNA.
Sheep that shed light on personality differences
Sep 15, 2009 |
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The team led by Denis Reale, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at UQAM and Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Ecology, recently completed a study showing the link between personality, survival and reproductive ...
Fabled 'vegetable lamb' plant contains potential treatment for osteoporosis
Oct 14, 2009 |
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once believed to bear fruit that ripened into a living baby sheep — produces substances that show promise in laboratory experiments as new treatments for osteoporosis, the bone-thinning disease. That's the conclusion of a ...
Dubai claims world's first cloned camel
Apr 14, 2009 |
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The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday claimed its own version of Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal, after the birth of a cloned camel in Dubai this month.
Fertility doctor says he's on the brink of cloning human: report
Apr 22, 2009 |
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A US-based fertility doctor claimed to have cloned 14 human embryos and transferred 11 of them into the wombs of four women in an interview published Wednesday.
GPS to track blue sheep and snow leopard
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists hope to improve the survival odds of the endangered snow leopard in Nepal by venturing into the remote Himalayas to study its main prey, the Bharal or blue sheep.
Roos have less impact on the environment: study
May 17, 2009 |
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A comparative study of the energy requirements of kangaroos and sheep has concluded roos have far less impact on the environment than once thought.
Appetite spells three wolves' doom in Switzerland
Aug 28, 2009 |
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It is unclear if the three wolves were too greedy or simply hungry, but what is certain is that by killing more sheep than they should, they have violated Swiss law.
Personality types may contribute to genetic success of bighorn sheep
Aug 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- There must be times when University of Alberta researcher David Coltman wishes his study on animal personalities focused on something small, like a house cat. Coltman would classify cats that ...
Mary had a lot of lambs: Researchers identify way to accelerate sheep breeding
Aug 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Mary had a little lamb, but only once a year. However, Cornell Sheep Program researchers have discovered an unusual form of a gene that prompts ewes to breed out of season as well as conceive ...
US-Mexico border wall could threaten wildlife species
Jul 07, 2009 |
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A 700-mile security wall under construction along the United States' border with Mexico could significantly alter the movement and "connectivity" of wildlife, biologists say, and the animals' potential isolation is a threat ...
Rare sheep could be key to better diagnostic tests in developing world, study
Jul 04, 2009 |
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The newest revolution in microbiology testing walks on four legs and says "baa."
Species barrier may protect macaques from chronic wasting disease
Jul 30, 2009 |
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Data from an ongoing multi-year study suggest that people who consume deer and elk with chronic wasting disease (CWD) may be protected from infection by an inability of the CWD infectious agent to spread to people. The results ...
