Editing St Kilda, Scotland (section)

=== Soay sheep ===
[[File:Soaysheepkilda.jpg|thumb|Soay [[sheep|ram]] on Hirta]]
On the inaccessible island of Soay are sheep of a unique type, which lived as [[feral]] animals and belonged to the owner of the islands, not to the islanders.  These [[Soay sheep]] are believed to be remnants of the earliest sheep kept in Europe in the [[Neolithic Era]], and are small, short-tailed, usually brown with white bellies, and have naturally [[moulting]] fleeces.  About 200 Soay sheep remain on Soay itself, and soon after the evacuation a second feral population of them was established on Hirta, which at that time had no sheep; in 1994 these numbered between 600 and 1,700.<ref name=Keay/> A few Soays have been exported to form breeding populations in other parts of the world, where they are valued for their hardiness, small size and unusual appearance.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010817041448/http://www.soaysofamerica.org/ "Soays of America"] soaysofamerica.org Retrieved 24 December 2007.</ref> On Hirta and Soay, the sheep prefer the ''[[Plantago]]'' pastures, which grow well in locations exposed to [[sea spray]] and include red fescue (''[[Festuca rubra]]''), sea plantain (''[[Plantago maritima]]'') and sea pink (''[[Armeria maritima]]'').<ref name=Darling/>

The St Kildans kept up to 2,000 of a different type of sheep on the islands of Hirta and Boreray.  These were a Hebridean variety of the [[Scottish Dunface]], a primitive sheep probably similar to those kept throughout Britain during the [[Iron Age]].  During the evacuation, all the islanders' sheep were removed from Hirta, but those on Boreray were left to become feral. These sheep are now regarded as a breed in their own right, the [[Boreray (sheep)|Boreray]].  The Boreray is one of the rarest British sheep and is one of the few remaining descendants of the [[Scottish Dunface|Dunface]] (although some [[Scottish Blackface]] blood was introduced in the 19th century).<ref name="rbst.org.uk">
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.rbst.org.uk/watch-list/sheep/boreray
 |title       = Sheep
 |work        = Rare Breeds Watchlist
 |publisher   = Rare Breeds Survival Trust
 |access-date  = 10 July 2008
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120406034136/https://www.rbst.org.uk/watch-list/sheep/boreray
 |archive-date = 6 April 2012
}}
</ref>