Munching their way through green spaces in urban environments, sheep and goats are becoming a trendy sight in cities.

Along the Cumberland River just north of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, tourists on party pontoons float past the recognizable skyline, but they also can see something a little less expected: hundreds of sheep nibbling on the grass along the riverbank.

The urban sheepherder who manages this flock, Zach Richardson, said sometimes the tourist boats will go out of their way to let their passengers get a closer glimpse of the Nashville Chew Crew grazing a few hundred yards away from densely populated residential and commercial buildings.

The joy people get from watching sheep graze is partly why they are becoming trendy workers in some urban areas.

  • ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.worldEnglish
    244·
    3 months ago

    I get the overall point, but it’s kind of funny that the article’s title mentions sheep but the associated image features goats.

    ETA: Oh wow, those are actually a type of sheep.

    • THB@lemmy.ml
      9·
      3 months ago

      I know goats and sheep can look very similar, and the fact that every caption refers to this specific farmer’s “flock of sheep” made me dubious.

      On closer inspection those appear to be shorn sheep. Goats would mostly have horns, yet none of those do. Presumably they interviewed the farmer beforehand as well.

      Just pointing this out since you got a few upvotes, I would have thought it was funny too

      • innrautha@fedia.io
        5·
        3 months ago

        Many goats are disbudded so that is not the most reliable way of differentiating them. The tails are a better tell. Goats have shorter tails that typically point up. Sheep naturally have longer tails that point down (often docked for hygiene reasons).

    • Tug@lemmy.world
      8·
      3 months ago

      Yeah, there are species of short hair sheep that aren’t used for their wool. They’re pretty neat and the ones I’ve been around were super friendly and loved pets