Animals seem to get ranked according to human associations

The commemoration of Dolly, the first cloned sheep, by a plaque last week should weigh in for her species on the contentious issue of the animal that the just-commenced Chinese year symbolises.

In earlier instances, many have tried to ram home the argument for any one of three animals in the running or remained sheepishly vague, because of an inexact English translation of the relevant Mandarin character. And final decisions invariably got someone or the other’s goat. Therefore, the Roslin Institute at Edinburgh University marking the life of a sheep whose birth was a giant leap for science, is serendipitous. There is not much to ruminate over, per se, between the variants of the ‘horned animals’ that the Mandarin word possibly indicates.

However, since this year we have been reminded about the seminal contribution of at least one member of the caprid species, deciding in favour of sheep would be appropriate.

Dolly’s elevation to immortality also highlights the fact that hitherto, dogs and horses have had a lion’s share of commemorations, thanks to their old symbiotic relationship with humans. India, for instance, has a workhorse helicopter and a scooter named after Rana Pratap’s famous steed Chetak, besides an erstwhile express train and a football club. We must be more catholic with our commemorations.