Question from Maud to me:
"I wonder if you would like to comment on the assertion that sheep rank in intelligence just below pigs?"
Thank you, Maud, for this. Of course we are more intelligent than people think and pigs are more intelligent than people think they are, as well. In fact pigs can rank as smarter than dogs (see stories) and not everyone knows that.
The article that you referred me to draws attention to the fact that we can see in colour. Imagine what it's like for us, therefore, having to look at all those awful glossy kagools worn by the walkers who swarm through our pastures at the weekend and assume we're stupid! We know they think we're stupid because we also have an excellent hearing.
Another little known fact is that we can recognize faces and remember up to 50 faces of our sheep friends for several years. More importantly, we know whether you (or our sheep friends) are happy or angry so we like it better if you smile at us.
The only real drawback is that we're not good at getting up if we fall over. But then neither are you humans when you're drunk!
So, think on! We are not just dumb woolly creatures. Next time you're out walking and the sheep move away from you, consider that it might be because you look unhappy or angry; because your kagool clashes with your trousers; or that we prefer to reflect, quietly, on absent friends!
"I wonder if you would like to comment on the assertion that sheep rank in intelligence just below pigs?"
Thank you, Maud, for this. Of course we are more intelligent than people think and pigs are more intelligent than people think they are, as well. In fact pigs can rank as smarter than dogs (see stories) and not everyone knows that.
The article that you referred me to draws attention to the fact that we can see in colour. Imagine what it's like for us, therefore, having to look at all those awful glossy kagools worn by the walkers who swarm through our pastures at the weekend and assume we're stupid! We know they think we're stupid because we also have an excellent hearing.
Another little known fact is that we can recognize faces and remember up to 50 faces of our sheep friends for several years. More importantly, we know whether you (or our sheep friends) are happy or angry so we like it better if you smile at us.
The only real drawback is that we're not good at getting up if we fall over. But then neither are you humans when you're drunk!
So, think on! We are not just dumb woolly creatures. Next time you're out walking and the sheep move away from you, consider that it might be because you look unhappy or angry; because your kagool clashes with your trousers; or that we prefer to reflect, quietly, on absent friends!
2 comments:
Monsieur M, I cannot thank you enough for pointing me in the direction of these enlightening studies. From now on I shall be approaching all sheep who cross my path (or whose paths I cross) with a great deal more respect ... AND with a smile on my face.
Thank you, Maud. I am here to serve.
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