A North Wales farmer was taken aback when he came across a perfectly formed “eye” marking on the ear of one of his sheep. When he posted a video of the strange blotch, on the eve of Halloween, social media users likened it to an eye amulet designed to shield wearers from evil.
Some suggested it was the “Devil’s mark”, others compared it to the Eye of Sauron. “Might want to give Gandalf a bell just to be safe,” advised a Herefordshire farmer, tongue firmly in cheek.
One man believed the symbol showed the lamb had been earmarked for sinister purposes. “We have had seriously messed-up people carrying out sacrifices... always happens around the solstices too,” he warned.
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The marking was discovered by Conwy hill farmer Gareth Wyn Jones as he sorted Welsh Mountain lambs at his Llanfairfechan farm. It was, he said, the first time he or his family had ever seen such a distinctive mark on a sheep.
Among the possible explanations offered by Gareth’s followers was ringworm. This is a fungal skin infection that causes small crusty lesions on the ears and face of sheep.
This was categorically discounted by Gareth. In contrast with humans, ringworm scars in sheep are rarely circular and never so uniform.
He said: “From the comments, people think it could be anything from the Devil’s mark to a good luck charm. In fact, it is just a throwback to Black Welsh Mountain sheep breeding.
“This can result in birthmarks but nothing like this. It is curious: in all my years as a farmer I’ve never seen anything like it in my sheep, and we’ve got thousands.”
However the circular marking is not unique: other farmers shared photos of sheep – even horses – with similar facial blemishes. Some people thought it looked “cute”. One woman said it looked "beautiful”. Another added: “You’ll have to keep that lamb, (it) may be a lucky one!”
The ear marking was also compared to “St Peter’s fingerprint”, a sign of good luck. According to Biblical legend, a similar circular mark appeared on John Dory fish (St Peter’s Fish) when he lifted one from the sea with a coin in its mouth.
Other suggestions ranged from a Lambretta logo (“Mod Squad lamb?") to an RAF roundel designed to make aircraft identification easier. A South Wales man went further. “It’s an RAF logo from the Rambusters,” he said. “Bah baa baaa baa baba baa baa bah baa baa baa baba baa baa.”
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