Sheep VS Goats: Who is the better problem solver

Wang Fang Photography

In adapting to the new situation, the goat is one step ahead.

Sheep and goats have many things in common: they are genetically closely related, they are roughly the same size and social structure, and they have been domesticated by humans for almost the same time.

"Sheep are herbivores, and goats prefer shoots and fresh shoots.

Christian Nawroth, who co-chaired the study, further said: "It is important that animals can respond quickly to changing environments because this allows them to find and develop new food sources.

The experimental setup of this study is quite simple: each time an animal is brought to the end of a small fence, another person stands on the opposite side to provide food, in the middle is a gaped fence, and the direct passage is blocked each time .

The results showed that in the first round of new position trials, goats managed to bypass obstacles easier and faster, and sheep reached their goals faster on average.

The test could not be carried out under the same conditions at the two locations, but the results were clear.

Related paper information: org/10.