Animals are often being shepherded around the streets of Dakar. Big herds, small herds – there always seem to be street creatures on the go.
But are these four-legged friends goats or sheep? I’d always assumed they were goats by the looks of them; the sheep that jump over fences before I go to sleep at night have white, fluffy coats. These animals have decidedly short hair and look quite a bit like the goats in the many county fairs of my youth. But I’ve heard a few Senegalese say that sheep are much, much more common here. After doing a bit of research, I think they’re right: African sheep simply look different than sheep raised in colder climates. What good would a puffy coat do in a hot country?
New rule of thumb when I’m photo-stalking street animals: if it’s got horns, it’s most likely a sheep.
Rachael Cullins is a twentysomething American girl living in Dakar, Senegal, with her husband and two dogs. She blogs about her adventures in Senegal and travels elsewhere in West Africa. She will reside in Dakar until summer 2013, when she and her family will move to another foreign post as part of her husband’s career with the U.S. government. In addition to West Africa, she has traveled to France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and Costa Rica and plans to continually add to that list.
