By Tim Binnall
In a bizarre story out of China, a sizeable flock of sheep mysteriously walked in a circle for twelve straight days. The very peculiar case reportedly occurred at a farm located in the community of Baotou in the country's Inner Mongolia region. The owner of the animals says that the strangeness initially began with just a few of the sheep forming a circle around the flock. Over time, however, more and more of the creatures joined in on the eerie procession until they numbered in the hundreds.
Making their odd behavior all the more mystifying is that the farm has 24 sheep pens, but the unnerving display has only been unfolding in enclosure number thirteen. The confounding case came to light earlier this week when security footage of the continuously marching sheep was shared on social media by the Chinese media outlet People's Daily. As one might imagine, the spooky scenes prompted all manner of theories as to what could be behind the puzzling behavior with some imaginative observers going so far as to suggest that aliens are to blame.
However, animal experts say that what occurred at the farm likely has a more prosaic explanation and point the finger at the disease listeriosis. The sickness, which is an infection caused by spoiled food, inflames one side of an animal's brain and leads to the creature exhibiting strange behavior such as walking in circles. As of now, it is uncertain if the sheep have received treatment for the disease or if they are still mindlessly marching while the world looks on in wonder.