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Disturbing footage showing a large flock of sheep following each other around in a circle for more than 10 days has emerged online.

The cattle almost look possessed during the 22-second clip, which was posted on the official Twitter account of China's largest newspaper and state-affiliated media outlet People's Daily.

Adding to the spooky sight is a soundtrack of trance-like music with the video uploaded alongside the following words: "The great sheep mystery!

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"Hundreds of sheep walk in a circle for over 10 days in China's Inner Mongolia. The sheep are healthy and the reason for the weird behaviour is still a mystery."

Unsurprisingly, Twitter users were not slow to offer their theories to explain the animals' behaviour.

One person claimed their circling could be linked to a supposed unexplained phenomenon that is being witnessed in other parts of the world.

They said: "The white rhino at the Nairobi national park has also been walking in circles but anticlockwise. A police station in Maragua has witnessed thousands of bats flying above the station for 2 days in a row day and night."

Others argued that, as the saying suggests, sheep are natural followers with one commenting: "Sheep have a strong instinct to follow the sheep in front of them. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if it is not a good 'decision'.

"This instinct is 'hard-wired' into sheep. It's not something they 'think' about."

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Another agreed: "That’s because they are sheep, they all follow the one in front of them and once they got into the circle formation they just couldn’t stop since there’s always one in front of everyone of them."

But there were people who were more concerned about the sheep's welfare with one declaring: "They're infected with listeria."

A second comment, meanwhile, read: "Maybe those sheep need more space to graze or it is a symptom of anxiety. Some animals when they feel anxiety begin to have behaviours similar to these, walking aimlessly or in a loop."

There were, inevitably, some light-hearted stabs at humour too.

"If they are restless, they should count people," joked one with another wisecracking: "Sheep Pilates studio."

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• China
• Animals

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