Description
The domestic sheep is a domesticated ruminant kept mainly for wool and milk, and partly for meat. According to current research, it is a domesticated form of the mouflon from western Asia. Since sheep are less demanding than cattle, they are also kept in mountainous or arid regions. The largest numbers of sheep are raised in China and Australia. The female is called a ewe and the male a ram. A castrated ram is called a wether, whose meat has a less pronounced distinctive smell. Most sheep breeds are highly social animals with a strong flocking instinct, and sheep feel insecure when separated from the flock. Sheep’s milk is very fatty and has a relatively low lactose content; fresh sheep’s milk is rarely consumed, although it is beneficial to health. Sheep also provide wool, one of the most widely used animal-based textile fibres.