Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Let's Separate the Sheep from the Goats

Your Smile for the Day



Can you tell sheep from goats? I used to think it had to do with which way the horns curve, but not so. It's all in the tail. A sheep's tail, if it hasn't been docked, always points downward and a goat's tail always points skyward. So is that black animal a sheep or a goat? Hard to tell. I say goat. What say you?


According to this chart, which is difficult to read, so sorry, there are other differences: in behaviour (social, foraging and butting), upper lips (divided or not by philtrum), coat (goats do not need to be shorn) More info here.

Bluefaced Leicester ewes
Sheep

Boer x Nubian goats browsing
Goats
The photographer thought it was a goat. The photo editor thought it was a goat. Sure looked like a goat to the author of this post. It turns out to be a sheep, in Dakar, Senegal.

This looks like a goat, but its cute little tail which we can't see points downward. Therefore, a sheep.

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