Who says sheep are brainless? Their gregarious and docile behavior might lead one to believe that sheep are not intelligent animals, but countless experiments have shown that quite the opposite is true.
For example: Sheep have an excellent memory for faces: show them fifty different ones and they’ll remember them all, even after two years have passed!
Sheep’s milk cheese was probably the first kind of cheese made by humans. Whether it originated in Europe, Central Asia, or the Middle East, where it’s used in many recipes, is still unknown. The use of sheep’s milk cheese is less widespread in the culinary traditions of North and South America and Asia, where it arrived “only” a few centuries ago.
Being a shepherd is one of the toughest jobs in the world. The shepherd’s job is to care for and protect the sheep by taking them out to pasture, finding them shelter, and milking and shearing them.
Originally, shepherds were nomads and lived in tribal groups that were constantly on the move from one pasture to another, depending on their animals for their survival. This practice is still widespread in Tibet, among the Bedouins of the Middle Eastern desert, and in Mongolia, where seminomadic shepherds make up a quarter of the population. Nowadays, the roaming flock is becoming less common.
Sheepology is filled with incredible sheep facts told in a playful tone by Ilaria Demonti, with endearing illustrations by Camilla Pintonato.
Notable features: Among the hardiest sheep in the world, Awassis survive in dry climates thanks to the supply of fat stored in their tail and back. Their wool protects them from the heat by insulating them from the outside temperature, and when the sun is too hot, they hide their head in the shade, under the bellies of the other sheep.
Fun fact: This breed is suited to either sedentary or nomadic life. It can walk for miles on end: Awassis can walk an average of 4–5 miles, but if they need to find food and water, then they can even do 21 miles in just twenty-four hours!
Notable features: Val Senales sheep have been living at high altitudes in the Alps for thousands of years and today continue to be bred by grazing alone.
Fun fact: Twice a year these sheep are taken from Val Senales, in Italy, to the Ötztal Valley, in Austria, for one of the few transhumances to cross a border between two countries. The trek is difficult, covering about 27 miles, with a 9,800-foot-altitude difference ascending, and a 5,900-foot altitude difference descending. The journey ends with a great celebration in Italy in the fall.
Notable features: This sheep, bred in the wild by the Maasai shepherds in the dry regions along the Great Rift Valley in southeast Africa, can survive long periods of drought. Instead of producing wool, it has thick red hair.
Fun fact: Livestock is important for the Maasai. Legend has it that the creator god, Enkai, sent the cattle sliding down a rope from the heavens into their safekeeping. The red sheep was the first animal to be bred by this community.