Question

The short-legged Ancon sheep is descended from a mutant ram discovered in Dover, Massachusetts in 1791. Why did this mutation become established?

Answer 1

choices:

A) Short legs were useful in helping the sheep outrun predators.
B) Short-legged sheep are more attractive to their mates and more likely to breed.
C) The Ancon sheep was bred by humans because ranchers did not need to build high fences to contain it.
D) The Ancon sheep was better adapted at catching its prey and living in the wild than normal sheep were, so it’s a case of survival of the fittest.

Answer 2

*In nature* short-legged sheep would be far less likely to survive, as they would not be able to outrun predators. However, this mutation persisted because *people* noticed the mutation, saw that this particular kind of sheep would be less likely to escape fences, so they deliberately kept breeding sheep with this mutation.

reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16440280/