sheep

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Why are farmers breeding wool-shedding sheep?

Black-Faced Highland ram.

Read Next

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

Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World

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

7 Questions About Mammals Answered

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

Discover

Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"

How Deadly Is Quicksand?

Titanic infographic. The 30th anniversary of its discovery is September 1, 2015. SPOTLIGHT VERSION.

Timeline of the Titanic’s Final Hours

Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom)

The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church

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

Lusitania sinking, illustration from The War of the Nations (New York), December 31, 1919. World War I, WWI. This image is one of three on the page. (See source file for the other two.)

7 of the World’s Deadliest Shipwrecks

Hemp (Cannabis sativa).

9 Mind-Altering Plants

Easter Procession of Maria Santisima del Sacromonte in Granada, Spain. This statue is known as Virgen de los Gitanos or The Virgin of the Gypsies.

What is Holy Week?

sheep: Facts & Related Content

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

News •

Rewilding drive against sheep ‘risks catastrophic wildfires’ • Apr. 12, 2025, 4:13 AM ET (The Telegraph)

WA news live: Man charged over shopping centre machete attack; Perth set for commuter chaos as Keep The Sheep convoy clogs roads • Mar. 27, 2025, 9:15 PM ET (Sydney Morning Herald)

World’s first case of bird flu in sheep detected in England • Mar. 24, 2025, 2:48 AM ET (The Guardian)

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

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

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

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

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Quiz

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

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama 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

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

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

A Quiz from Shrews to Whales

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals 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