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'Still a mystery': Hundreds of sheep seen trotting in a circle for 12 DAYS in spooky video

Some animal experts are speculating that the uncanny behavior of the sheep is caused due to a bacterial disease called Listeriosis

BAOTOU, CHINA: Mystery erupted after a flock of sheep was filmed trotting around in a circle for a whole twelve days without stopping. The surveillance footage, taken on November 4, captured hundreds of sheep mysteriously marching clockwise in a near-perfect circle on a farm in the city of Baotou in Inner Mongolia.

The bizarre video was shared on Twitter by the Chinese state-run outlet People’s Daily on Wednesday, November 16. The outlet also claimed that the sheep were completely healthy when they started circling. “The sheep are healthy and the reason for the weird behavior is still a mystery,” the caption of the post read.

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The owner of the sheep, identified as Miao, was left dumbstruck after witnessing the strange view; she said the whole march started with just a few sheep before other sheep on the farm joined them. Miao said there are 34 sheep pens on the farm but only the sheep in pen number 13 were moving weirdly. In the video going viral on the internet, some sheep can be seen standing still in the middle of the circle.

The bizarre act displayed by the sheep left people on the internet astonished. “Idiot! They're keeping warm from the freezing cold,” one user wrote. 

"That’s because they are sheep, they all follow the one in front of them and once they got into the circle formation they just couldn’t stop since there’s always one in front of everyone of them," another explained.

“At least 97% of humans have been walking around in circles for their whole lives. Most are healthy and the reason for this weird behaviour is still a mystery,” said the third user.

Some animal experts are speculating that the uncanny behavior of the sheep is caused due to a bacterial disease called Listeriosis. Listeriosis is commonly associated with spoiled silage (sheep food) and causes disorientation and inflammation on one side of an animal’s brain, hence the circling. “Initially, affected animals are anorectic, depressed, and disoriented. They may propel themselves into corners, lean against stationary objects, or circle toward the affected side,” according to the Merck Manual. “Listeriosis is primarily a winter-spring disease of feedlot or housed ruminants. The less acidic pH of spoiled silage enhances multiplication of L monocytogenes,” the website continued.

The sheep on a farm in East Sussex stirred a similar mystery after they were captured standing still in concentric circles. However, this time a sheep snacker, a type of livestock feeder, had caused the display after dispensing the food in a circle across the field.