The internet is obsessed with a video showing sheep hilariously jumping over a light reflection.
Soph (@sophfae) shared the clip, which quickly garnered 1.6 million likes and 6.2 million views on TikTok.
"Really resonate with these stupid sheep. They are idiots, why did they jump out over the light reflection, I love them," Soph wrote as the text overlay on the video.
"Me if I was a sheep that's a bit silly," she captioned the post.
Sheep possess a unique visual system that significantly influences their behavior and interactions. Their eyes are positioned on the sides of their heads, providing them with nearly 360-degree vision. This wide field of view allows them to detect predators from almost any direction. However, this arrangement also creates a blind spot directly in front of their noses and behind their tails.
The horizontal orientation of their slit-shaped pupils enables sheep to monitor ground-level movements effectively, which is crucial for spotting predators approaching from the ground. This adaptation allows them to keep an eye on the ground while grazing, enhancing their ability to detect threats.
Despite their wide field of vision, sheep have poor depth perception. This limitation can cause them to hesitate or become startled by unfamiliar visual stimuli, such as light reflections. Their sensitivity to such stimuli may explain their behavior of jumping over light reflections, as they might perceive them as potential obstacles or threats.
Social media users shared their own amusing theories and observations.
One commenter, Lauren, humorously wrote: "Sorry i fell asleep how many jumped."
"For the same reason humans jump over sea waves at the beach," wrote Maria.
"This vid actually helps me sm bc when I imagine sheep jumping they always fall into a bottomless pit and i cant sleep so now i have a real reference to use for counting sheep," said Al.
One user explained the behavior with some insight: "If sheep are following one another and the lead sheep jumps, I kid you not the entire herd will jump over the same area even though they have no idea what they're supposed to be jumping over."
Another viewer provided a more scientific take: "I know youre not looking for an actual answer ahaha but they have wide angle vision and have bad depth perception. They jump because they're not sure what the light could be since they can't see."
Haven commented, "Sight is just light perception, humans are really good at it, other animals are not, so they see light and cant decipher if it's an actual object."
Newsweek reached out to @sophfae for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
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