Meet Mr. Popover: a rescued sheep who lives with his sister, Mary Poppins, and many other animal friends at Edgar’s Mission, a farmed-animal sanctuary in Australia.
The other day, Mr. Popover was enjoying some enrichment time on the property when he stumbled
across a mirror. The little sheep nudged his head against the glass and looked at himself, seeing his own reflection for the very first time.
“Much like an inquisitive child encountering something unfamiliar, Mr. Popover simply had to investigate,” Pam Ahern, Edgar's Mission founder and director, told The Dodo. “There was this rather interesting little sheep looking back at him, and he seemed quite happy to spend some time working out what to make of it.”
You can watch Mr. Popover discover the mirror in a video here:
Though Ahern and other animal experts can’t confidently say whether sheep can recognize themselves in mirrors the way humans do, she knows that Mr. Popover’s interest in his reflection is exemplary of his rich inner life.
“For Mr. Popover, the mirror was simply another opportunity to engage with his world,” Ahern said. “And what a lovely thing that he had the freedom to do so.”
According to Ahern, sheep are incredibly socially aware, and recent studies suggest they can remember the faces of 50 other sheep for more than two years, as well as familiar human faces.
The animal rescuer loves learning from animals like Mr. Popover, who regularly remind her about life’s simple pleasures.
“Watching Mr. Popover, I do occasionally wonder whether we humans might benefit from being a little more sheep-like,” Ahern said. “A little more curious, a little more present and a lot more delighted by the ordinary wonders around us.”
