Sheep 101 - Famous Sheep

Dolly, the Famous Cloned Sheep Dolly -- the world’s first animal to be cloned from an adult cell -- became the most famous sheep in history after her birth was announced by the Roslin Institute in Scotland in 1997. Dolly 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 carried the resulting cloned embryo and gave birth to Dolly. It took 276 attempts before the experiment was successful. The birth of Dolly was hailed as a scientific breakthrough. Dolly became a superstar and seemed to enjoy the constant human attention.	Dolly with her first lamb Bonnie Photo courtesy of Roslin Institute
A Premature Death Dolly gave birth to six lambs. She was put down when she was six and a half years old, after developing a lung infection. Dolly’s health problems may have been a result of the fact that she was cloned from a six-year-old ewe. She also suffered from a form of arthritis. After her death, Dolly was stuffed and put on display in the Royal Museum of Scotland. Learn how Dolly was cloned.	Dolly with triplet lambs Photo courtesy of Roslin Institute
The Toast of Botswana An unusual case of a goat-sheep hybrid was reported by veterinarians in Botswana in 2000. The animal was born naturally from the mating of a female goat (which is generally thought not possible) with a male sheep that were kept together. 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 the hybrid the name "Bemya" or "Rapist." He was castrated when he was 10 months old because he was becoming a nuisance.	Sheep-Goat Hybrid
Renegade Sheep A renegade New Zealand sheep that managed to evade the shearers for six years finally had a haircut. Shrek, the Merino sheep, was shorn live on national television by top shearers David Fagan and Peter Casserley. The 10-year-old sheep had managed to roam freely on New Zealand's South Island for more than six years before being finally rounded up. Shrek's 27 kg (60 lbs.) 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, removed in April 2005, weighed 31 kg and measured three meters in length. Shrek 2 was approximately 11 years old. Read more about Shrek	Shrek before shearing Photo link from BBC
A "Miracle" Lamb West Bank -- In March 2004, a lamb was born with what looked like "Allah" (the Arabic word for God) spelled out in Arabic on his 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 view the "miracle" lamb.	Photo by Nayef Hashlamoun
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 herd 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 calmly 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.	Border Leicester Sheep Photo courtesy of UK Society of Border Leicester Sheep Breeders

. . . New Words . . . Cell - the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms. Clone - a genetically identical duplicate of an organism. Egg - a female reproductive cell. Embryo - an organism in the early stages of development. DNA - the material inside the nucleus of cells that carries genetic information. The scientific name for DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid. Arthritis - imflammation of the joints. Chromosome - a structure found in the cell nucleus that contains the genes (genetic information). Chromosomes come in pairs. Humans have 23 pairs. Libido - the desire for sexual activity. Castrate - remove the testicles of a male animal. Fleece - the entire coat sheared from an animal at one time. Animatronics - the use of machines controlled by computers to make puppets and models move in a natural way in films and other types of entertainment.

What Happened to Dolly, the Cloned Sheep?

Celebrity Sheep