Sheep and goats are classified as which of the following?

• A. Carnivores, omnivores, predatory
• B. Hoofed, herbivores, digitigrade
• C. Non-hoofed, omnivores
• D. Cloven-hoofed, herbivores, plant-eaters

Answer: (B)

Sheep and goats are animals whose front-line traits used for classification are their feet and their diet. They have hooves, specifically split or cloven hooves, and they eat plant material, making them herbivores. In many animal science descriptions, hoofed animals carry their weight on the tips of their toes, which is described as digitigrade posture. So describing them as hoofed, herbivores, and digitigrade fits their physical structure and feeding habits more precisely than the other options. The other choices either misstate their diet (not carnivores) or their feet (non-hoofed), and one option pairs cloven-hoofed with plant-eaters but loses the broader, useful classification focus that aligns with how these animals are generally described.