Jogger gets shock of a lifetime when 100 sheep start running with her

Mind if we follow ewe? Jogger is left bewildered after entire flock of 100 sheep start running after her when she finds them lost in French woods

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For many runners, they might have their dog as a companion whilst out on a run, but one trail runner in France was left bewildered after she was followed by no less than 100 sheep. Video shows the French woman running along a forested path near Puy de Dôme in central France. She was then followed by an entire flock of sheep after they became lost.

Artist Eleanor Scholz was on a hike when she came across the bewildered runner, who explained that the 100-strong flock just wouldn’t stop following her after she found them lost in the woods. 

In the video, filmed by Scholz, the sheep can be seen running behind the woman and stopping when the runner did so. The runner stopped to chat to Scholz for a few minutes to explain the bizarre situation – and during this time, the sheep waited patiently for her to finish talking.

The woman explained that the whole flock of sheep had become lost and followed her for her entire run. And video shows that when the woman began running again, the 100 sheep all quickly ran after her in a blur of white and black.

Scholz joked on Instagram that the woman is a 'shepherdess now'. She later said on social media that the runner had told her that she was leading the sheep back to where she'd seen some pastures earlier on in her run.

Scholz joked on Instagram that the woman is a ‘shepherdess now’. She later said on social media that the runner had told her that she was leading the sheep back to where she’d seen some pastures earlier on in her run.

She added: ‘It wouldn’t have been difficult to ask around in that small community and figure out who they belong to, since the sheep were all painted to identify which farm they came from.’

Scholz joked that it would have been a ‘confusing’ day for the farmer to discover his entire flock missing – and to learn that the sheep had gone out on a run with a random woman.

Sheep instinctively flock together and follow a leader – and when one sheep moves, the rest will follow. ‘Sheep display an intensely gregarious social instinct that allows them to bond closely to other sheep and preferentially to related flock members,’ experts wrote in a research paper published in the MSD Veterinary Manuel. ‘Flock mentality movements protect individuals from predators.’

It is not known whether the sheep ended up back at their farm – or why they began following the woman in the first place. 

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