Hold on to your socks, folks: screaming sheep are absolutely hilarious! If you've never had the pleasure of hearing it, you really must! Here's the reason why sheep scream.
If this video doesn't show you why we think screaming sheep are un-baa-lievably funny, we don't know what will! In this mega viral video from 2012, we really see how farm animals like sheep and goats can scream: it's really quite amusing, and it never fails to entertain us! (You haven't lived until you've heard a screaming baby goat!)
In the video, we see a typical sheep at the beginning just looking around, you know, doing its usual sheep thing — then in a split second, let out a loud scream that sounds exactly like a human screaming bloody murder! (It's so human-like, it's almost like it was superimposed or something!) This is seriously the funniest thing we've seen all day — and with over 35 million views, the internet agrees!
The Famous Screaming Sheep
So, what's the reason behind sheep and goats yelling like humans?
Why Do Sheep Scream?
Sheep make a variety of sounds: there's the usual baaing and mehs, but then there is bleating — bleats are the loud, bloodcurdling, yells (or screams if you prefer!) in the world of sheep. Goat specialist, Dr. Daniel Waldron of Texas A&M, explains why sheep (and goats!) scream:
"Typically they make that sound when something is uncomfortable for them. The farmer walked by, and didn't feed them when he usually feeds them at that time. Or it could be that you may have just separated an offspring from its mother. So she could be calling for her offspring or complaining that her offspring wasn't with it." Waldron explains.
If there's one thing we've learnt from this: sheep and goats are demanding "bleating" farm animals. Sheep screamers and screaming goats are not unusual. In fact, they do it a lot and for all sorts of reasons. I mean, do you blame them? After all, sheep are one of the very few species that have horizontal pupils as opposed to vertical pupils — allowing them to have 340 degrees of vision and detecting anything that's remotely coming their way, and we really do mean ANYTHING.
So next time, don't be too startled when your herd lets out a bloodcurdling, human-like scream, they probably just want to be fed.
Have you heard a sheep scream before? Let us know and share your thoughts on our Wide Open Pets Facebook Page!
