How smart are sheep? Essay

How Smart Are Sheep by Barbara Drake is about the cognizance of sheep and the studies that harbour been conducted to prove that sheep can feel different emotions and recognize dogs and homo as their enemies. Evolution has re-wired the sheep brain to bash to hate and stay outside(a) from gentlemans gentleman and dogs. Brain activity question in sheep has shown that sheep see dogs and humans as more than alike than comparing the human and the dog to themselves. Drake explains that Of course, fro ma distance, if a human being gets down on whole fours, in that location is little uncertainty and the sheeps brain may number one direct possible other sheep signals until the sheep gets close enough to realize its mistake (247). question has also found that sheep have emotions. They have been known to feel and pomposity moods of fear and happiness. For example when sheep see an approaching human they leave alone start to feel fearful or if an approaching human is carrying a ol d bag of grains for them to eat then they will start to feel expert because they know that they ar about to eat. Drake believes that raft who believe that animals do non have flavors or emotions are just trying to find an excuse not to feel bad about the horrible things that we do to animals to be adequate to(p) to harvest their bodies for food.If a creature has no feelings, it can feel no pain, Drake explains is the common clich phrase that humans use to make themselves feel disclose about the harmful things we do to animals as a society (248). The feeling of happiness sheep feel when a human is bringing them food is not because of the human, but it is that the human is bringing them. Bummer delivers, which cannot be brought up by their mothers, are bottle-fed and are most commonly known to display happy emotions when their bottles are being brought to them.The bummer dears start to become hostile and resentful when its human starts to wean it from its bottle. Drake has see n weaned bummers use a resentful lovely of body language that can only be called sulking (248). This kind of air is the beginning of the behavior that has naturally been wired into their brains to dislike humans. Other research shows that sheep produce more excitable brainwaves when being shown a picture of horned sheep. If a sheep is shown a picture of a sheep upside down it will not recognize the sheep because, usually, sheep are only recognizable on all fours.Drake states, In fact, a sheep on its back is liable to be in trouble (249). Sheep have been categorized as stupid because of theirstrong herding instincts. faultless herds of sheep have been known to walk off-key of cliffs just because their leader went off first. Sheep were tested below the intelligence level of horses and cattle when presented a position of feed that was covered in in a black cloth. It took the sheep more than several tries to figure out that the cloth has to be removed to mobilise the food. Anothe r test showed that in single-trial learning, sheep knew how to recognize a plant they shouldnt eat after only eating it once.Lambs also learn this by example from their mothers. Sheep also know to go into their pens at night and how to fork themselves into the ram and ewe sides of the pen. Drake encountered an eight-month old lamb that was lost and was trying to find its elan home. Not sure where the lamb belonged, Drake sold the lamb to some people who lived on the other side of town. A few weeks later the lamb had gone missing. The lamb had panicked and jumped the fence because it had been left all alone in the pen by itself. This time when the new owners returned the lamb to their farm, they do sure there were a couple of ewes waiting for them in the pen, Drake explained, concerning the lamb that had escaped (251).