The web is discussing the strange behavior of sheep that have been walking in circles for more than 10 days
Miscellaneous / / April 05, 2023
There are several versions of what is happening, but it has not yet been possible to confirm any of them 100%.
This week, many media wrote about the unusual behavior of a herd of sheep in Mongolia, which have been walking around in circles like zombies for more than 10 days. This greatly frightened the owner of the farm, since every day new individuals join this round dance. Video with animals published Twitter channel People's Daily, China.
Pictures: People's Daily, China (Twitter)
The web is already speculating that the sheep have entered the so-called death spiral, as ants do, guided by the pheromones of neighboring individuals.
Others have suggested that the animals are suffering from coenurosis, or "circle sickness," caused by soil bacteria. They can only infect one half of an animal's brain, causing it to lean towards the affected part.
Matt Bell, agricultural scientist at Hartpury University in England, put forward your version. In his opinion, when sheep are in the pen for a long time, they can literally become frustrated and start going in circles. This is a common symptom commonly seen in captive wild animals.
This phenomenon is also called "zoochosis", it manifests itself in repetitive behavior that does not seem to serve any purpose. Once a herd animal begins to behave in this way, other individuals may follow suit and join in the circling or other nonsensical activities.
This version of the scientist does not fit the fact that out of 34 sheep pens on this farm, only one behaves strangely, although all animals are kept in the same conditions.
UK Metro writesthat the most likely cause of this round dance is the bacterial disease listeriosis, which affects the central nervous system and causes disorientation in animals. It can be caused by a damaged silo. However, this is still only one of the versions.
Do you have any idea why these sheep are walking in circles? Write in the comments.