RE: Introductions: The Inauguraling
03-09-2016, 08:39 AM
Ah, I'm from Canada myself. We've got a variety of breeds but the various Dorsets are sort of our standard, good for meat and wool and lambs. You guys like the heavy wool producers in your flocks so Romneys and Merinos are good choices.
As for the Icelandic Leader Sheep, they're a small breed population wise - native to Iceland as the name would indicate. They're a fairly old breed that was derived largely from the original norse colonist's stock, so they started hardy and got even tougher over time but after the introduction of modern breeds to the island their population dropped to the limited number of around 1,500 but it is seeing some rebound due to cultural preservation efforts and interbreeding with other lines to pass on some of their favourable characteristics. Lovely markings, with white, brown or black wool across their bodies and a patch of cream around their neck and have short tails. Their faces have various white and black markings and both sexes have horns.
So while they're physically hardy and are exceptionally good at handling snow they gained research interest when they displayed somewhat unique social interactions. Mainly they seem to have instinctual predispositions to flock leadership, long-term memory in relation to geography, independent decision making, and a capable understanding of cause-and-effect. These traits make them unusually capable of being independent and successful without the supervision of either shepherds or dogs, with flock leaders guiding and motivating the rest naturally. They're often capable of leading their flocks independently over large geographic distances year after year, with memory of routes and hazards used to protect the flock.
One of the most unique observed traits however is that in groups of pure Leader Sheep there seems to be a recognized lineage of flock leaders. It is unknown if this is a social development or the currently undergoing study of parents teaching their young to be more capable than others for the role so they naturally win the position against competitors within the flock. Further there seems to be no preference for leadership being male or female so the usual ram-dominated dynamics have altered. However when they were introduced to groups of other sheep breeds, any Leader Sheep tends to assume a leadership position. Some of these studies show general improvement in these groups welfare with the introduction of a Leader Sheep, being that they're healthier and preform better against predation.
Other notables have been that their facial memory seems to be on a human-level of recognition and memory, they have been noted to learn a limited vocabulary of human words in tests and respond to them (effectively letting shepherds give them orders like dogs), and their spatial-awareness is incredible. Some of the testing methods developed with them have seen good results in Australian psychology tests as well though I'm less well versed with the details since I haven't read through them in quite awhile. Some mild debate on if they qualify as sapient - especially if we can confirm if they teach their young and other members of their flocks.
As for the Icelandic Leader Sheep, they're a small breed population wise - native to Iceland as the name would indicate. They're a fairly old breed that was derived largely from the original norse colonist's stock, so they started hardy and got even tougher over time but after the introduction of modern breeds to the island their population dropped to the limited number of around 1,500 but it is seeing some rebound due to cultural preservation efforts and interbreeding with other lines to pass on some of their favourable characteristics. Lovely markings, with white, brown or black wool across their bodies and a patch of cream around their neck and have short tails. Their faces have various white and black markings and both sexes have horns.
So while they're physically hardy and are exceptionally good at handling snow they gained research interest when they displayed somewhat unique social interactions. Mainly they seem to have instinctual predispositions to flock leadership, long-term memory in relation to geography, independent decision making, and a capable understanding of cause-and-effect. These traits make them unusually capable of being independent and successful without the supervision of either shepherds or dogs, with flock leaders guiding and motivating the rest naturally. They're often capable of leading their flocks independently over large geographic distances year after year, with memory of routes and hazards used to protect the flock.
One of the most unique observed traits however is that in groups of pure Leader Sheep there seems to be a recognized lineage of flock leaders. It is unknown if this is a social development or the currently undergoing study of parents teaching their young to be more capable than others for the role so they naturally win the position against competitors within the flock. Further there seems to be no preference for leadership being male or female so the usual ram-dominated dynamics have altered. However when they were introduced to groups of other sheep breeds, any Leader Sheep tends to assume a leadership position. Some of these studies show general improvement in these groups welfare with the introduction of a Leader Sheep, being that they're healthier and preform better against predation.
Other notables have been that their facial memory seems to be on a human-level of recognition and memory, they have been noted to learn a limited vocabulary of human words in tests and respond to them (effectively letting shepherds give them orders like dogs), and their spatial-awareness is incredible. Some of the testing methods developed with them have seen good results in Australian psychology tests as well though I'm less well versed with the details since I haven't read through them in quite awhile. Some mild debate on if they qualify as sapient - especially if we can confirm if they teach their young and other members of their flocks.