"Crop"-Circles of a New Kind?

[Gwin Ru]

Mystery over sheep standing in concentric circles

Alex Winter
The Sun, UK
Sat, 10 Apr 2021 22:27 UTC

Mysterious photos that show a flock of sheep standing in a bizarre circle pattern have baffled social media users.

And the man who spotted the strange phenomenon says he initially believed it was a spaceship like "something out of the X Files".

A dad out for a cycle was baffled after spotting a flock of sheep gathered in a circle. © Jam Press

Christopher Hogg, of village Rottingdean in East Sussex, was out on his bike when he saw the sheep gathered together.

The 47-year-old said:

"I was on my daily cycle when I came over the hill and saw this magnificent circle.

"At that point I was about half a mile away, which made me think that whatever it was, it was huge.

"It was saucer-shaped, like an alien ship.

"And it was beautiful - but also a bit too weird for comfort.

"I cycled a bit closer and then realised the circle was made of sheep."

Lecturer Christopher Hogg first saw the circle from afar - and said he believed at first it could be a spaceship. © Jam Press

Christopher, a lecturer at Royal Holloway University, cycles past the flock every day - but said he's never seen the creatures behave that way before.

"The sheep are usually noisy," he said.

"I go past them every day, but this day they were very still and calm.

"It was so quiet, like they were in a trance. It was very eerie."

Christopher said his wife Victoria and son Louis thought the photos were "nuts".

He then shared the image on Facebook, where other users have since tried to work out why the sheep behaved in such a way.

But as he drew nearer, he realised the deeply strange sight was actually sheep © Jam Press

"There was lots of debate as to whether it was a crop or flock circle, or if the sheep were being summoned by a strange force," he said.

"Others thought they might be pranking the farmer.

"We all agreed it was a mystery that warranted the recall of Mulder and Scully."

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... circling the wagons and calling the Cavalry to the rescue?

... super mind-control technology herding the sheeple? (like dropping the winter feed in a spiral pattern?)

... new organic Stonehenge?

[palehorse]

I have no clue what that is supposed to mean, if it is true I mean no photoshop, it could be some sort of induced trance, but then begs the question, by who? Aliens?
This is very weird.

[Journeyman]

One comment I saw underneath said this was achievable by distributing their feed in a circular pattern.

Having spent time perusing the Symbolism Communication website it also makes me think of comms, which could include the name and workplace of the person who reported it.

One thing which did occur to me however was that it could be seen as a metaphor for the global population during this last year, sheep, herded into a circle.

[Gwin Ru]

Posted by Journeyman (here)
One comment I saw underneath said this was achievable by distributing their feed in a circular pattern.
[...]

Posted by Gwin Ru (here)
[...]
-----------------------------------------------

... super mind-control technology herding the sheeple? (like dropping the winter feed in a spiral pattern?)

[...]

Right, but it doesn't explain this:

Posted by Gwin Ru (here)
[...]
Christopher, a lecturer at Royal Holloway University, cycles past the flock every day - but said he's never seen the creatures behave that way before.

"The sheep are usually noisy," he said.

"I go past them every day, but this day they were very still and calm.

"It was so quiet, like they were in a trance. It was very eerie."

[...]

Related:

• What are ewe looking at? Moment sheep called Mad Sally headbutts 'drone dog' out of the air when it tries to herd her at Welsh farm

[Brigantia]

That is bizarre, and it's interesting that it's on the Sussex Downs. Clapham Wood is not far away on the Downs from this sheep circle, about 15 miles, which is a place reputedly of high strangeness - UFO sightings, unexplained murders, animal disappearances, rumours of evil rituals taking place and people feeling bizarrely unwell.

You can read more about that here.

[uzn]

If you like the sheep, check out the reindeers

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5DHxCwARCqo

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=gjrzivMqqu0

[Tyy1907]

Posted by palehorse (here)
I have no clue what that is supposed to mean, if it is true I mean no photoshop, it could be some sort of induced trance, but then begs the question, by who? Aliens?
This is very weird.

I really don't know what to make of this. It can be seen from a few different perspectives!

With the reindeer it looks like a kind of harmonious dance that has a beauty to it.

[Journeyman]

Posted by Tyy1907 (here)

Posted by palehorse (here)
I have no clue what that is supposed to mean, if it is true I mean no photoshop, it could be some sort of induced trance, but then begs the question, by who? Aliens?
This is very weird.

I really don't know what to make of this. It can be seen from a few different perspectives!

With the reindeer it looks like a kind of harmonious dance that has a beauty to it.

I can explain this one at least.

After careful study and consulting several respected ancient texts I've concluded they're actually Roundeers.

[palehorse]

Posted by uzn (here)
If you like the sheep, check out the reindeers

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5DHxCwARCqo

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=gjrzivMqqu0

there are 4 of them in the inner circle, they are not moving with the rest, maybe they are the alphas controlling?

The second video is wonderful.

Posted by Tyy1907 (here)

Posted by palehorse (here)
I have no clue what that is supposed to mean, if it is true I mean no photoshop, it could be some sort of induced trance, but then begs the question, by who? Aliens?
This is very weird.

I really don't know what to make of this. It can be seen from a few different perspectives!

With the reindeer it looks like a kind of harmonious dance that has a beauty to it.

Yes it is beautiful and weird, you know what, sheep does not behave like that, I grew up in a farm, we had sheep, rams and goats and I never saw anything like that.

They are not cute creatures, if you know what I mean, when I was young a ram almost broke my leg, he came out of nowhere and hit me so hard, that I had a bad time to stand up and run, because that is pretty much what you can do, only run. My father had a very similar episode with another ram, they are unpredictable creatures.
They behave strange sometimes during the night, specially the males, seriously today I have goosebumps with goats and rams and now I see this picture, it was like what the hell is that!!!

[Karen (Geophyz)]

The reindeer are moving - perhaps a defense mechanism? The sheep seem to be eating.

[palehorse]

In accordance with "the sun" article, here is the person responsible for the pictures
https://intranet.royalholloway.ac.uk...edia-arts.aspx
https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/por...e2bf3c3f).html

Mr Christopher Hogg
Lecturer in Creative Digital & Soc. Media
Department of Media Arts

interesting at least.

[Journeyman]

Posted by palehorse (here)
In accordance with "the sun" article, here is the person responsible for the pictures
https://intranet.royalholloway.ac.uk...edia-arts.aspx
https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/por...e2bf3c3f).html

Mr Christopher Hogg
Lecturer in Creative Digital & Soc. Media
Department of Media Arts

interesting at least.

Maybe it's a project for his class. Here's how you get 1m page impressions for the price of a couple of crates of beer to persuade the farmer to let you spread the turnips in a circle...

[onawah]

I wonder if the reindeer are moving like that to keep from going stir crazy in those small pens,
Obviously they are intelligent enough to do it in such an orderly way to keep from hurting each other.
Animals are so much more intelligent than we give them credit for!
I saw something recently, must have been on youtube, showing a flock of sheep with lights attached to each of them.
Sheep dogs had been trained to herd them in a certain way in order to make patterns, and videos were taken at night from the air ( a drone, probably) showing the patterns shining.
They were quite intricate.

[Brigantia]

There is also the lore in Britain of the crow parliament, where numerous crows gather in a circle with one, two or three in the middle. They are believed to be either a crow discussion or a trial. I read about this years ago, looking for a source on this I found this article and it appears that this is also a belief in Sweden;

"There are tales of flocks of crows holding trials and executing fellow crows for bad behaviour. Long considered folklore, such gatherings have now been witnessed. In Sweden these trials are called “kråkriksdag,” roughly translated as “crow’s parliament” with as many tales of crows acquitted as found guilty and torn apart."

[Gwin Ru]

...

... for the reindeer, maybe they learnt not to get lost in a blizzard, since they do it with no fence around?

And, may be the sheep (which are in a habit of getting lost ) learnt something from the deers via some 100th monkey?

... still doesn't explain the quietness...

[Tintin]

Posted by Brigantia (here)
There is also the lore in Britain of the crow parliament, where numerous crows gather in a circle with one, two or three in the middle. They are believed to be either a crow discussion or a trial. I read about this years ago, looking for a source on this I found this article and it appears that this is also a belief in Sweden;

"There are tales of flocks of crows holding trials and executing fellow crows for bad behaviour. Long considered folklore, such gatherings have now been witnessed. In Sweden these trials are called “kråkriksdag,” roughly translated as “crow’s parliament” with as many tales of crows acquitted as found guilty and torn apart."

Fascinating, I never knew that Sentience, leading to sentencing: trial by crow. A new idiom, perhaps?

[onawah]

There doesn't seem to be any accurate info about where the term "kangaroo court" originated, but I wonder if it's because kangaroos do something similar to crows.

[Satori]

Posted by onawah (here)
I wonder if the reindeer are moving like that to keep from going stir crazy in those small pens,
Obviously they are intelligent enough to do it in such an orderly way to keep from hurting each other.
Animals are so much more intelligent than we give them credit for!
I saw something recently, must have been on youtube, showing a flock of sheep with lights attached to each of them.
Sheep dogs had been trained to herd them in a certain way in order to make patterns, and videos were taken at night from the air ( a drone, probably) showing the patterns shining.
They were quite intricate.

Good thought. In the second video in post #9, these beautiful creatures are doing the same thing in the wild, wide open wonderland. So, I'm not sure the behavior is just because they are corralled and can't move freely about.

[onawah]

That second video in post 9 looks photoshopped to me, though...

Posted by Satori (here)

Posted by onawah (here)
I wonder if the reindeer are moving like that to keep from going stir crazy in those small pens,
Obviously they are intelligent enough to do it in such an orderly way to keep from hurting each other.
Animals are so much more intelligent than we give them credit for!
I saw something recently, must have been on youtube, showing a flock of sheep with lights attached to each of them.
Sheep dogs had been trained to herd them in a certain way in order to make patterns, and videos were taken at night from the air ( a drone, probably) showing the patterns shining.
They were quite intricate.

Good thought. In the second video in post #9, these beautiful creatures are doing the same thing in the wild, wide open wonderland. So, I'm not sure the behavior is just because they are corralled and can't move freely about.

[RunningDeer]

“Wild Way of the Vikings“: Reindeer are perhaps the single most significant wild animal for the early Vikings. Every part of the animal was used and hunting them was a regular activity. When spooked, the reindeer herd bands together in a swirling melee designed to confuse any predator. This phenomenon is captured on camera in a striking overhead sequence.

Reindeer Cyclone (2:17 min)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xv8UtXWk8UI

See how a herd of reindeer move together like a swirling cyclone as a form of defense.

“Wild Way of the Vikings“ premieres Wednesday, February 13 at 8|7c on PBS - Nature.

About the Episode

Experience the natural world through the eyes of the Vikings, when nature meets history in a journey showcasing the wildlife of the North Atlantic. Combining blue-chip natural history filmmaking and dramatic re-creations, Nature travels from Norway to Newfoundland, just as the seafaring warriors did in 1,000 A.D., to get a glimpse of the Vikings’ world in the Americas hundreds of years before Columbus. It was a time when Vikings ruled the northern seas when their only compass and guide were the ravens in the sky and the killer whales pushing through the icy waters.

Witness the deep history and cultural respect the Vikings had for the land and sea, from the puffins and otters of the Scottish coast to the vast herds of reindeer in Norway to the eider duck farms of Iceland. Discover how the Vikings practiced the true spirit of the Wild Way of the Vikings – take everything that you need from nature, but value it for as long as you can. Ewan McGregor narrates.

Noteworthy Facts:

• Archaeological records reveal that fish often made up more than 25 percent of the Viking diet.
• The Shetland Islands are well beyond the swimming range of animals in Norway and Scotland. Some experts believe that the Vikings first brought otters to the Islands.
• Young gannets were prized by the Vikings as tender meat. However, they are protected by dagger-like bills more than six inches long and a six-foot wingspan that can fold up and dive down to depths of 20 feet or more.
• By the year 874 A.D., Viking colonists reached the island of Iceland. Only one other land mammal had colonized this savage landscape beforehand: the Arctic fox. Arctic foxes can exist in temperatures of -70 degrees because of their incredibly dense, warm fur. Vikings used fox fur for clothing, bedding and as a valuable trading commodity.
• The raven is a major character in Norse mythology – Odin the all-father god was allegedly attended by two ravens called Hugin and Munin that flew around the world to bring news of the ways of men. The world’s largest crow would have been a familiar sight to the Vikings, as they are happy to scavenge amongst carcasses.