sheep

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Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Why are farmers breeding wool-shedding sheep?

Black-Faced Highland ram.

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cat. orange and white persian cat with long hair, snarl, growl, teeth

7 Questions About Mammals Answered

animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.

Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World

Sergeant Stubby or also known as Mascot Stubby. Unofficial mascot dog of the 102nd Infantry Regiment of the United States with the 26th (Yankee) Division in World War I. War dog. Possibly a Boston terrier - also sometimes described as a Boston bull terrier

8 Famous Animals

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Hindu Holi Festival celebrations with colored water, powder and colorful flower petals thrown over celebrants at a Hindu temple in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India on March 24, 2021.

Holi: Festival of Colors

Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time

NBA Lakers Celtics Finals Kevin Garnett shooting.

10 Great Sports Rivalries

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.

10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci

airplane in flight (plane, aircraft, flying)

7 Puzzling Plane Disappearances

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd

Causes of the Great Depression

sheep: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Sheep shot while pregnant gives birth to twin lambs • Feb. 21, 2025, 10:33 PM ET (BBC)

Facts

Also Known As	Ovis aries

Photos and Videos

Black-Faced Highland ram.

Corriedale ram.

Why are farmers breeding wool-shedding sheep?

Learn how somatic cell nuclear transfer is used for reproductive and therapeutic cloning

Watch Irish sheep herders at work and learn why most of the country's agricultural land is used as pasture

Listen to a farmer talking about raising sheep in Patagonia

Discover why the eyes of some animals, such as sheep and goats, have horizontally elongated pupils

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Topics

Cheviot Rambouillet Merino Hampshire Southdown Suffolk Karakul Shropshire sheep breeds Romney rabbit cattle pig goat bighorn sheep argali urial snow sheep mouflon Dall sheep

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Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Humpback whale breaching out of the ocean. (sea mammal; ocean mammal)

A Quiz from Shrews to Whales

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.

Animal Factoids

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

List

animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.

Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World

Sergeant Stubby or also known as Mascot Stubby. Unofficial mascot dog of the 102nd Infantry Regiment of the United States with the 26th (Yankee) Division in World War I. War dog. Possibly a Boston terrier - also sometimes described as a Boston bull terrier

8 Famous Animals

cat. orange and white persian cat with long hair, snarl, growl, teeth

7 Questions About Mammals Answered