1′ OF READING
For twelve days a flock of sheep circled Mongolia, but what caused this phenomenon was the doubt of the whole world.
The first hypothesis was Listeria, with some experts suggesting it could be “circular disease,” a bacterial infection that particularly affects ruminants, causing brain damage and killing them within 24 to 48 hours of infection.
However, the animals survived and the analyzes gave negative results.
Another solution came from Matt Bell, a professor in the Department of Agriculture at the University of Hartpury in Gloucester, England. According to the teacher, the movement of the sheep in circles would be a manifestation of their uneasiness about the constraints of living in cramped pens with very little space.
Bell explained that under these conditions, the animals “might exhibit stereotyped behaviors, with repetitive circling due to the frustration of being in the enclosure and confined.” Out of solidarity, the other sheep would have joined those affected by this frustration.