# Have you ever seen a fox or sheep in real life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2016, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179 "2016-06-12T11:16:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/61 "2016-06-12T21:52:27Z")
Sheep I only see in the zoo but years ago a friend of mine bought an arctic fox. She only had him briefly. It did not go well mostly because she thought it would be like a really cute dog. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/62 "2016-06-12T22:02:38Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Sheep I only see in the zoo but years ago a friend of mine bought an arctic fox. She only had him briefly. It did not go well mostly because she thought it would be like a really cute dog. Yep, that’s usually what amateurs say when they try to raise canids. The worst part is that most canid species do act like domestic dogs when they are juveniles, and then their behavior changes as they get older. The best you can really hope for is that they figure it out before someone gets hurt. Anyway, I have seen a great many sheep and a few foxes, but I also live in rural and suburban areas. I can totally see how someone from the inner city could go their whole life without ever encountering one. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/63 "2016-06-12T22:13:55Z")
Canadian here. I have seen more sheep than foxes but I have seen foxes more often. One doesn’t usually see a flock of foxes. I have seen more deer than sheep though. More racoons lately than anything else. Except maybe crows hanging out on the East vancouver/Burnaby border. 1000s of them. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/64 "2016-06-13T01:17:31Z")
I’ve seen both sheep and foxes everywhere I’ve ever lived, except for a period in Boston, where the only mammals commonly spotted are dogs, cats, giant rats, and possums. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/65 "2016-06-13T01:32:02Z")
I’ve seen foxes several times on Long Island. They aren’t rare. Sheep? Hundreds of times! Where the heck are you that you don’t see sheep?!?? Seen 'em wild in the New Mexico backcountry, seen 'em tame in herds all over the place, seen a few individual ones penned in farmer’s pastures alongside the cows, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/66 "2016-06-13T03:21:56Z")
Wife raises sheep. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/67 "2016-06-13T07:15:30Z")
The traditional cheeses from my area are from sheep’s milk. Yep, seen 'em around, mostly _caras negras_ (“black faces”, they have black skin and white wool) and _churras_ (prized for their milk and meat more than for their wool). I’ve also seen foxes but a lot less of them: foxes don’t travel in herds which have the right to take over national roads built atop their traditional paths. When we were in Costa Rica, one of the first signs that people were starting to feel truly comfortable around us was questions about sheep. There’s no sheep in CR, but there is a thriving industry making Christmas decorations: many of our client’s workers had made little sheep figurines at some point, none of them had ever seen one “for real”. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/68 "2016-06-13T15:55:49Z")
I’ve seen a few fox in the wild here in Chicago suburbia. Sadly, the same place I saw them had then dead in the road a few days later. I’ve seen plenty of sheep, domesticated of course. There’s a few at a farm I pass to and from work. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/69 "2016-06-13T16:03:25Z")
Sure, I’ve seen both, most recently on my vacation: sheep on various ranches along the road and a fox in the parking lot of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area visitor center. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/70 "2016-06-13T16:42:03Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I envy you the bears – we got rid of ours in the UK, about 500 AD. So where do the bearskin hats come from?? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/71 "2016-06-13T17:03:02Z")
I just saw a fox crossing the road in front of me on my way home last Friday. I would say I see a couple in the wild every year. And sheep, yes of course I’ve seen plenty of herds of sheep. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/72 "2016-06-13T17:22:21Z")
As other people have said, where have you lived that you haven’t seen sheep? I live in London but see them often whenever I go out of town. And foxes … we have them everywhere in London. I had one in my back garden a few days ago, just sitting in the middle of the lawn enjoying the morning sunshine. And a friend of mine had one come in the house, up the stairs and into the bedroom and sat looking at her mother in law in bed! Then later when they chased it away, they found it had been in the other bedroom and chewed up four pairs of my friend’s shoes. And this is in an inner London suburb. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/73 "2016-06-13T17:27:42Z")
Sheep…often, just driving down a highway past a ranch. Not as common as cows, but not uncommon at all. Foxes…I think I saw a grey fox while I was camping, once. They’re darned stealthy and apparently we don’t cross paths much. Seen coyotes several times, though…once, in my back yard. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/74 "2016-06-13T18:23:39Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Very well… quality isn’t great as it’s at night so using infra-red, and it keeps setting the security light off too, but since you asked 🙂 > > Here it is making an unholy mess and making off with the first one. I won’t upload the rest as watching that happen five more times over half an hour is about as interesting as it sounds! > > [Stop… thief!](https://youtu.be/iuHcOOSlnko) Very neat, thanks 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![katpohl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@katpohl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katpohl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/75 "2016-06-13T18:25:11Z")
Yes I have seen both sheep and fox . I live close to an animal refuge that the government transplanted wild mountain sheep onto a couple of decades ago . And domesticated sheep are common sight the further South a person goes the bigger the flocks get Foxes aren’t real common but they are around. If a person keeps chickens there will be foxes coming around no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/76 "2016-06-13T18:55:30Z")
Both in the past month. The sheep was in a pasture and the fox was running across the road. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/77 "2016-06-13T20:40:26Z")
I grew up out in the countryside, so one might think that I would have seen a sheep or fox, but I think my animal roster (excluding zoos and pets) is limited to: Deer Bears Marmots Cows Horses Goats Alpaca (there was a farm near where I grew up that had them as an alternative to sheep) Bobcats Rabbits Squirrels Bats Groundhogs Raccoons Peacocks Camels (on a trip to Egypt) But I think that I have not seen a fox nor a sheep. Though, I may be wrong. ETA: Scorpions, millipedes, iguana, snakes, etc. and probably another dozen or so animals at least (ignoring the tiny critters like ants and aphids). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/78 "2016-06-13T21:02:10Z")
Don’t think I’ve ever seen sheep - it’s cows people raise around here, at least that they let get near roadways. Foxes I’ve seen, though. Not often, but a couple times. ---
**Author:** ![Orr\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee59a6/32.png) [@Orr\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orr_G)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/79 "2016-06-13T22:01:46Z")
I’ve seen sheep and fox in real life in zoos/petting zoos, plenty of times. I’ve also seen sheep on farms plenty of times. Indeed, there’s a hobby farm with sheep on the route from my town to the next nearest town. We had a wild fox come and hang out on our back deck for about an hour last year about this time. I don’t recall ever seeing a wild fox before; it’s rare, but not unheard of, for there to be foxes in our general area. I’ve never seen a wild sheep, though. I’m in Western Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/80 "2016-06-13T22:25:30Z")
Fox (red): once, about 30 years ago now, walking across a snow-covered farm field in southern New Jersey at twilight. Sheep: Several times in fields in Pennsylvania and Scotland, and in great numbers close up this past January when I went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. Lambs at the 4H auction, sheep of many colors and varieties waiting to give it up for their team in the Sheep to Shawl competition, sheep bleating sadly as handlers sheared them backstage, many times many sheep in pens eating, crapping, sleeping, staring blandly at passerby. Want to see farm critters? Go to a farm show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179.md?page=5)