Most of us, when we think of sheep, we imagine a gentle and docile animal happily grazing on a spring meadow. But, like with any animal species, sheep have their own unique set of behaviors and instincts, and not all of them are always docile. If you’re a farmer, or just a lucky individual who happened to encounter them in their habitat or some other setting, it’s important to understand the nature of sheep and how to handle them. So, let’s tackle the basic question and then some other topics, like the cause for potential aggression and how to safely deal with our woolly critters.
Sheep are generally not considered aggressive animals by nature. Sheep are often described as herbivores with peaceful and quite passive behavior. There are always exceptions to the rule. Any animal, when stressed, sick, or provoked can show some aggressive demeanor. Sheep usually won’t show aggression, even if provoked, and if they do show it, it’ll always be for their own defense and self-preservation and not intentionally harmful.