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Sheep

Ovis aries


Where is it found?

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Farmland across the globe.

Diet and foraging method

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Like other ruminants, Sheep have a four chambered stomach that helps breakdown relatively indigestible plant material.  Digestion involves regurgitating partially broken down food and re-chewing it before swallowing it back down.
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Key adaptations

Four chambered stomach for digesting plant material.
Thick, woolly coat to insulate against cold weather.

Social organisation

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Live in flocks
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Polygynous

Did you know that...?

Sheep were the first mammals to be cloned (Dolly). 
Sheep can be found in a wide range of fur colours such as brown black and white. 
If a sheep ends up on its back it cant get itself up, and if left, can eventually die.

Taxonomy

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Picture credits:

Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Sheep looking to the right" by Joran Bosscher - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sheep_looking_to_the_right.jpg#/media/File:Sheep_looking_to_the_right.jpg
"Faroesheeps" by User:Erik - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Faroesheeps.jpg#/media/File:Faroesheeps.jpg
"Flock of sheep". Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flock_of_sheep.jpg#/media/File:Flock_of_sheep.jpg

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