Today's Middle-east shepherds lives are not radically different from that of their first century counter-parts. They wander endlessly in search of fields where their sheep might graze. Every night, the sheep are led into a protected area - a "sheepfold." Sometimes, there are three or four or five flocks gathered by a number of shepherds into the same area. The shepherds take shifts staying up throughout the night, making sure that wolves or other wild animals aren't able to make their way into the protected area. In the morning, one might wonder if there is any hope of separating one flock from another. But it's a simple matter. Each shepherd calls the sheep and the sheep hear their shepherds' voice, and they immediately begin to move towards their shepherd. After a few minutes, all the sheep are separated into their own flocks, and the shepherds lead them away. Even in a crowd sheep know the voice of their own shepherd, and they follow it.