In a scene eerily reminiscent of the demon-possessed swine who stampeded over a cliff to their deaths (cf. Matt. 8:28-33), a herd of sheep startled their Turkish shepherds by hurling themselves over a cliff:
"First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.
"In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.
"’There’s nothing we can do. They’re all wasted,’ Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam."
Tempting as it is to be amused by this story, the loss of the sheep will be a difficult hardship for the local shepherds who lost over $100,000 in livestock.
+J.M.J+
I’ve heard stories of this before; if one sheep walks off a cliff, the whole flock will follow him. That’s one reason why they need a shepherd; no smarts at all.
Hate to say it, but this is why the Bible compares us to sheep. Aren’t we just like that, with our fads, fashions, peer pressure, etc.?
In Jesu et Maria,
Years ago there was a ~100 year old woman on the Johnny Carson show. When Johnny asked her what the greatest thing about being 100 was she said lack of peer pressure!
Actually, I also have heard that sheep will commonly follow the crowd to their eventual doom, so I am a little perplexed at why
A) The shepherds did not take precautions when the first sheep jumped. And
B) Why a somewhat common experience would make press. Unless it was the sheer numbers of sheep and the fact that the later sheep were cushioned by their billowly friends.
Is the original purpose of the article an attempt at humor?
Its a good thing we don’t have cliffs near College Station here in Texas because the sheep no doubt get awful nervous at times.