Question: How long does a sheep's heart last?

Steve Briddon answered on 28 Apr 2021: last edited 28 Apr 2021 3:07 pm

So this is an interesting Q that I don’t know the answer to off the top of my head – and might be better answered by someone who is a zoologist or better still a vet! However, a bit of research suggests that the sheep (not bread for slaughter) live for about 10-12 years. There is some evidence that we are all born with about 2.5 billion heartbeats to give – so those animals with a faster heart rate live a shorter time. However, a sheep’s resting heart rate is about 70-80 beats every minute, which is not that different from a human’s (who tend to live for about 80 years). So this would suggest that the heart dying is not the main thing which determines how long a sheep lives! Of course, a sheep’s heart can’t live on after it dies of other things – so in that case – the answer is about 10-12 years!

Please take this answer as one off the top of my head- and not a fact!