Photo: VCG

Playing dead in the blink of an eye when encountering adults and bouncing around energetically in the presence of children—this is the trick of a 10-day-old lamb in Pingluo county, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The lamb is named "Yangrouchuan" (literally meaning lamb skewer) and is raised by a local farmer surnamed Jin.

When Jin took several newborn lambs to the market for sale, this lamb displayed unusual behavior. Circulated videos show that whenever an adult approached or touched it, the lamb would quickly fall to the ground, stiffen its body, and close its eyes, appearing to have "dropped dead on the spot." Yet once the crowd dispersed, it would quietly get back on its feet and return to normal.

The lamb is exceptionally gentle with children, willing to approach and interact with them, creating a striking contrast in its behavior, the videos showed.

Jin took four newborn lambs to the rural market for sale, with the other three sold at the market price of 420 yuan ($60.27) each, The Paper reported. The only exception was this drama lamb that played dead the moment it was touched, which deterred potential buyers who mistook it for being ill.

This lamb has also won the affection of netizens. Videos posted by Jin's relatives on Chinese social media platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou have garnered over 10 million views, attracting 12,000 followers. Some netizens jokingly called the lamb "the Oscar-winning Best Actor of the Sheep World" and a "born performer."

Some buyers offered nearly 130,000 yuan to purchase the lamb, but Jin turned down the offer, The Paper reported.

He said he has no intention of selling the lamb; instead, he wants to leverage its popularity to let more people learn about Ningxia's mutton, wolfberries and Eight Treasure Tea, a famous Chinese herbal tea that is believed to promote beauty and health.