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Famous sheep
- Dolly
Dolly became the most famous sheep in history when her birth was
announced by the Roslin Institute
in Scotland in 1997. Dolly was the world's first mammal to be
cloned. She was born July 5, 1996, from three different mothers.
Her genetic mother provided the DNA. A second ewe provided the
egg into which the DNA was injected and a third ewe carried the
cloned embryo. It took 276 attempts before the experiment was
successful. The birth of Dolly was hailed as a huge scientific
breakthrough. Dolly became a superstar and seemed to enjoy the
human attention.
Learn
how Dolly was cloned=>
Dolly gave birth to six lambs. She was euthanized when she was
six and a half years old after she developed a lung infection.
Dolly's health problems may have been the result of the fact that
she was cloned from a six year old ewe. Dolly also suffered from
a form of arthritis. After her death, Dolly was stuffed and put
on display in the Royal Museum of Scotland.
- The Toast of Botswana
An unusual case of a sheep-goat hybrid was reported by veterinarians
in Botswana in 2000. The animal was naturally born from the mating
of a female goat with a male sheep that were kept together. Such
pregnancies were not thought possible.
The hybrid had 57 chromosomes, intermediate between sheep (54)
and goats (60) proving it was not a case of mistaken identity.
Its features were halfway between sheep and goats. The hybrid
had a very active libido, mounting both ewes and does when they
were not in heat. This earned him the name "Bemya" or
the "rapist." He was castrated when he was 10 months
old because he was becoming such a nuisance.
- Shrek 1 and 2
A renegade New Zealand sheep managed to evade shearers for six
years. Dubbed "Shrek," the Merino sheep was shorn live
on television by top shearers David Fagan and Peter Casserly.
The 10-year old sheep managed to roam freely on New Zealand's
South Island for more than six years before being rounded up.
Shrek's 60-pound fleece, enough to make 20 large men's suits,
was auctioned off over the internet for the benefit of children's
medical charities.
Shrek 2 bested Shrek 1 by avoiding shearing for 7 years. His fleece
was removed in April 2005. It weighed 68.2 pounds and measured
three meters in length. Shrek 2 was approximately 11 years old.
- Miracle lamb
In March 2004, a lamb was born on the West Bank. What looked like
"Allah" (the arabic word for God) was spelled out in
Arabic on its back. According to witnesses, the name of the Prophet
Mohammed was spelled out on the other side, though it was harder
to see. Many Palestinians traveled through several Israeli checkpoints
to see the "miracle" lamb.
- Moviestars
Border Leicester sheep were featured in the 1995 hit movie Babe,
which tells the story of a sheep-herding pig. The movie required
970 animals, including 550 sheep. All scenes of sheep herding
were real herds and the trained dogs who herded them. When the
sheep appear to be attentively listening and keeping very still,
both real and animatronic sheep were used.
The ratio was one animatronic sheep for every three real sheep.
The real sheep were trained to calmy remain on their marks. When
the sheep walk in unison, real sheep were used and harnessed with
a very thin material that was not visible on camera. These sheep
had been trained in pre-production to respond so that when one
was called, they all followed.
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