Sheep don't have very good PR, generally being regarded as being passive and lacking any interest in their surroundings. Having said that, it has been known for many years that mother sheep can distinguish the bleat of their lamb from all others in the herd. Scientists at Cambridge have now demonstrated that Welsh Mountain sheep, not only can visually recognise the facial characteristics of their handler but can be taught to distinguish celebrities (e.g. Barack Obama and Emma Watson) from other folk with accuracies approaching those seen in humans (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/nov/08/is-it-baa-rack-obama-sheep-able-to-recognise-celebrities-say-neuroscientists). This is not only a finding that gives sheep more personality but may also be used to gain a better understanding of Huntingdon's disease (a strain of sheep with this condition has been derived).
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