Soay Sheep and lamb

The Soay sheep is a primitive breed of sheep from the 250-acre island of Soay in the St. Kilda Archipelago, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) from the Western Isles of Scotland.
The breed is believed to date back 6 million years. It remains physically similar to the wild ancestors of domestic sheep, the Mediterranean mouflon and the horned urial sheep of Central Asia. It is much smaller than modern domesticated sheep but hardier, and is extraordinarily agile, tending to take refuge amongst the cliffs when frightened. Soays may be solid black or brown, or more often blonde or dark brown with buffish-white underbelly and rump; a few have white markings on the face. They have a 'dished' face, almost like a goat.

Their fleece is made up of 40% hair and 60% wool and in summer they do not require to be sheared as they cast their fleece.

The breed is listed in "Category 4: At Risk" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, because there are only between 900 and 1500 registered breeding Soay ewes.


As this is the lambing season, there have been a lot of blips of lambs; I thought this was quite interesting though. We were in Aberfoyle, and they have a variety of breeds of sheep, including Soay, Shetland, Hebridean and Jacobs and information about them all.

A dry day, and the sun came through eventually.