When we think of the friendliest animals we don’t really think of sheep, do we?
Sure, sheep don’t have the reputation for being aggressive, but when you think of sheep there’s only one word that comes to mind: docile.
It seems like we’ve been sadly mistaken, as evidenced by an adorable video online.
The clip shows just how similar sheep are to another lovable animal — dogs.
Reposted from the @millingtonsmagicalbarn TikTok account, the clip shows the sheep greeting a human that it loves. The human walks up to the sheep, who was waiting in the pasture for them. Did you know that sheep wag their tails when they’re happy? Because this little guy’s tail is flying.
“POV: You’ve been waiting for your favorite person all day,” the text overlay reads. Awwww, can you imagine being a sheep’s favorite person? Sounds like this human is really doing something right with their life. We weren’t the only ones totally swooning over the sheep’s reaction. People in the comments section were positively obsessed.
“I did not realize sheep waged their tails like dogs. Sweet little sheep,” wrote one person. “I think he was a dog in his previous life,” someone else joked.
“I could never live in the countryside I’d get nothing done,” a third person admitted.
“I did not know that! I’m making it my life’s mission to become as sheep’s favorite person,” vowed one commenter.
Sheep Don’t Show Their Emotions Often
There’s a reason why we don’t really know what sheep are like when they’re happy — they tend to keep their emotions close to their chest.
There’s actually a biological reason for this, as prey animals it’s typically more beneficial for them not to show emotions, like fear.
Or to not reveal that they’re sick or injured, making them bigger targets for predators.It might seem like sheep don’t even have emotions at all, but they do!
They just use more subtle signs that they’re feeling something so as to not attract attention.
Researchers believe the best way to tell what a sheep is feeling is by looking at their ears.
Sheep with ears in the forward ear position can be in a novel situation that they’re unfamiliar with or it can be a sign of distress.
When a sheep’s ear is in a neutral or is facing backwards that means a sheep is feeling calm or even positive emotions.
Asymmetrical ears means a sheep is distressed — like when they’ve lost track of their flock. It’s not clear if tail wagging is a true sign of sheep affection, but something tells us it’s very possible.
