Sébastien Le Belzic, edited by Yanis Darras
It is a strange phenomenon that has been observed in recent days in China. A herd of sheep began to turn in a circle, for almost two weeks, day and night, provoking the interrogation of local media and Chinese scientists.
It’s a mystery that even scientists can’t solve. In Inner Mongolia, in northern China, several dozen sheep have been circling for two weeks. Chinese scientists can not explain why these hundred sheep embarked on this funny round. The video, which is circulating on all social networks in China, shows these animals suddenly starting to walk in a circle one behind the other, without stopping, day and night.
The great sheep mystery! Hundreds of sheep walk in a circle for over 10 days in N China’s Inner Mongolia. The sheep are healthy and the reason for the weird behavior is still a mystery. pic.twitter.com/8Jg7yOPmGK
— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) November 16, 2022
Only one herd from this farm in northern China embarked on this strange farandole which ended as abruptly as it had begun. According to the owner, a few animals in Pen 13 started circling clockwise. Very quickly, almost the entire enclosure joined the movement.
Bacteria or survival instinct?
Experts believe that an infection with Listeria bacteria may have caused brain inflammation in these sheep that could lead to muscle paralysis on one side only. Disoriented, the sheep would have started to turn for two weeks. The local media put forward another theory: the tornado effect. Guided by the moment of preservation of the herd, these ovidae would have started going around in circles to protect the most fragile among them by placing them inside the century. Objective, to protect them from predators, like what reindeer do in the tundra.