some information about sheep

So I am only now realizing, due to my dad's question, about "Isn't that a goat, and not a sheep?" that I, too, once had some severe confusion about the difference between sheep and goats in Senegal. Okay, so it turns out that not all sheep are fluffy and woolly like we know them. Some sheep are also very goat-looking with short hair! Let me enlighten you, my faithful readers, so you can all be as knowledgeable as I am when it comes to barnyard animals.

Thanks to a page I found on google called "Sheep 101," here are some differences between goats and sheep:

• The easist way to tell the difference between a sheep and goat is to look at their tails. A goat's tail goes up (unless it is sick, frightened, or in distress). Sheep tails hang down and are often docked (shortened) for health and sanitary reasons.


• Most goats naturally have horns. Some goats have beards. Many breeds of sheep are naturally hornless (polled). Some sheep have manes. Goat horns are more narrow, upright, and less curved than sheep horns. Sheep tend to curl their horns in loops on the sides of their heads.
  

Thus, the animals in question are definitely sheep, but I am now just remembering my initial questions of "Wait, are all Senegalese people crazy for referring to those most-definitely goat animals as moutons, and not chevres?" After asking our Senegalese friend, Aziz, our confusion was cleared up, so I hope this cleared up your confusion too.

Now, on to some funny pictures of sheep and goats!

This is me with our friend Aziz's domesticated pet sheep. Yes, I am serious. The sheep's name is Magique (which in French actually translates to "magical," not "magic"... curious, I know), and Aziz and his mother have sworn that he will never be dinner. Shannon, my American friend who lives with Aziz's family, says that Magique is quite the addition to the family!

This is Ryan and me with Magique. Very touching.

Here is Ndeye Thioune, my little sister, feeding our sheep.

You can tell they are sheep because of their downward-hanging tails.
I really can't tell for sure what this one is. I think it's a sheep, due to its tail, but it is just too far away to tell. However, I am posting this picture because I think it's hilarious. This is how people bathe their animals. They take them to the ocean, drag them into the water, and then rub sand into their fur to scrub out all the yucky germs that grow in there. I snapped this picture when I took the little girls to the beach that one time.

I'm pretty sure these are goats, because goats tend to eat garbage more htan sheep, who like organic matter. This is my view from outside my balcony on trash-collection day.


Lastly, here is our Tabaski dinner sheep. You can tell he's a sheep due to his curly horns. He was so cute... RIP.

Now, I hope you know a lot about the difference between sheep and goats, and feel like you have made a good use of your time by looking at all these silly pictures of Senegalese animals.

Now, off to take my Wolof exam!