The Great Sheep Panic 1888

The Great Sheep Panic, also known as The Great Sheep Panic 1888 or The Mysterious Oxfordshire Sheep Panic of 1888,[1] was an event that occurred 3 November 1888 across southern England.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Event

On the evening of 3 November 1888, at about eight o’clock thousands of sheep had, by a simultaneous impulse, burst from their bonds, fields and dwellings and had been found the next morning, widely scattered, some of them still panting with terror under hedges, and many crowded into corners of fields, some miles from the fields they had been left in the previous evening. In the end, it had spread over 200 square miles (520 km2). The Times reported on 20 November 1888 "malicious mischief was out of the question because a thousand men could not have frightened and released all these sheep.” It was later noted that there seems to be something of special localization: for another panic occurred in 1889, this time in Berkshire not far from Reading.[8]

Possible explanation

The scientific journal Nature noted that the 3 November 1888 had been "an intensely dark night, with occasional flashes of lightning" and explained that "panics have often occurred, for sheep are notoriously timid and nervous animals".[9]

gollark: We should also abolish causality, as it is a concept which oppresses people.
gollark: I vote that we abolish time and thus months and years.
gollark: As a person, I propose that your ignorance of the opinion is ignored.
gollark: No. No groups should randomly be allowed to claim entire years. Months is bad enough, but we have even fewer years available.
gollark: "Mental state" is a very general term.

References
  1. "The Mysterious Oxfordshire Sheep Panic of 1888". Esoterx.com. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  2. Alpin, O.V. “Panics in Sheep”. Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England v55. London: Royal Agricultural Society of England [etc.], 1894.
  3. Fort, Charles, 1874-1932. New Lands. New York: Garland Pub., 1941.
  4. Lockyer, Norman, Sir, 1836-1920. “Notes”. Nature v39. [London, etc.: Macmillan Journals Ltd., etc.], 1888.
  5. “Letters to the Editor”. Live Stock Journal v.28. London: Vinton, 1888.
  6. “Notes and Queries”. Hardwicke’s Science-gossip: An Illustrated Monthly Record of Nature, Country Lore & Applied Science v.25. London: R. Hardwicke [etc.], 1889.
  7. “Sheep Panics”. The Scottish Journal of Agriculture v.4 (April), 1921.
  8. Fort, Charles, 1874-1932. New Lands. New York: Garland Pub., 1941 p. 489-490.
  9. "Sheep Panics" (PDF). Nature. 106 (2674): 710–711. 27 January 1921. doi:10.1038/106710a0. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
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