British scientists have found a way to soothe anxious sheep. They’ve been showing them photographs of other sheep. They say that the sight of a friendly face appears to lower their stress levels.
Scientists in Cambridge placed individual sheep in a darkened barn and measured their stress levels. When the animals were shown the faces of other sheep, they had fewer signs of agitation than when they saw goat faces or images of triangles.
This raises a number of questions for me. Firstly – why did they spend so much time looking for ways to de-stress sheep? Secondly – why did they think that showing them images of triangles was worth a try?
The other thing they found is that sheep can remember the faces of at least 50 other sheep, even in profile. I find this to be the most disturbing feature of the study. It proves that sheep are much smarter than I am. I’d be hard pressed to remember the faces of 2 or 3 different sheep. They all look pretty much the same to me.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading No more need to be sheepish!? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.
There has got to be a possible sermon illustration about this story.
I’m sure if there is I’ll be able to squeeze it out. 🙂