In Jan last year we reported on the arrival of six white bundles at the Goducate Training Center (GTC) in Iloilo, Philippines. These were hair sheep donated by a friend from nearby Negros Island.
The sheep population at GTC has doubled since then. Recently we were stunned to see a newly-born black lamb amidst the all-white herd. We surmised that this has to do with the lamb’s parents both carrying a gene for color. It’s really not uncommon for black lambs to be born in a white herd to white parents. Different genes control the fleece color and pattern, whether it is solid or spotted. A black fleece comes from recessive genes, so when a white ram and a white ewe are each heterozygous for fleece color (having a recessive gene for black and a dominant gene for white), there is a 25% probability that their progeny could be a black lamb.
Since only a few white sheep are heterozygous for black, a black sheep is not common, the idiom “black sheep in the family” denotes a deviant or disreputable member of a group.
GTC is open to paying guests, and conducts educational tours of the premises for various groups. The children find petting, hand feeding, and hugging sheep to be adventurous and thrilling experiences. The black sheep will provide us with an opportunity to teach the older children and adult guests some basic genetics.
For booking inquiries, please contact GTC Iloilo at:
Tel 09225506199 Email gtc_iloilo@yahoo.com