Editing Orkney (section)

==Natural history==
[[File:Seals hauled out by Lyrie Geo, Hoy, Orkney - geograph.org.uk - 2472901.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Seals hauled out at Lyrie Geo on [[Hoy, Orkney|Hoy]]]]
Orkney has an abundance of wildlife, especially of [[grey seal|grey]] and [[Harbor seal|common seals]] and seabirds such as [[Atlantic puffin|puffins]], [[kittiwake]]s, [[black guillemot]]s (tysties), [[common raven|ravens]], and [[great skua]]s (bonxies). Whales, dolphins, and [[European otter|otters]] are also seen around the coasts. Inland the [[Orkney vole]], a distinct subspecies of the [[common vole]] introduced by [[Neolithic]] humans, is an [[endemic]].<ref name=SNH>[http://www.snh.org.uk/scottish/nisles/orkney.asp "Northern Isles"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205025558/http://www.snh.org.uk/scottish/nisles/orkney.asp |date=5 December 2008 }}. SNH. Retrieved 27 September 2009.</ref><ref>Benvie (2004) pp. 126–38.</ref> There are five distinct varieties, found on the islands of Sanday, Westray, Rousay, South Ronaldsay, and the Mainland, all the more remarkable as the species is absent on mainland Britain.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Haynes, S., Jaarola M., & Searle, J.B.|year=2003 |title=Phylogeography of the common vole (''Microtus arvalis'') with particular emphasis on the colonization of the Orkney archipelago |journal=[[Molecular Ecology (journal)|Molecular Ecology]] |volume=12 |pages=951–956 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-294X.2003.01795.x |pmid=12753214|issue=4|bibcode=2003MolEc..12..951H |s2cid=2819914 }} Retrieved 27 September 2009.</ref>

The coastline is well known for its colourful flowers including [[Aster tripolium|sea aster]], [[Scilla verna|sea squill]], [[Armeria maritima|sea thrift]], [[Limonium|common sea-lavender]], [[Erica cinerea|bell]] and [[Calluna|common heather]]. The [[Primula scotica|Scottish primrose]] is found only on the coasts of Orkney and nearby Caithness and [[Sutherland]].<ref name="Brown 2003 p. 19"/><ref name=SNH/> Although stands of trees are generally rare, a small forest named [[Happy Valley (garden)|Happy Valley]] with 700 trees and lush gardens was created from a boggy hillside near Stenness during the second half of the 20th century.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-13529344 "Boggy hillside reborn as Orkney forest reserve"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022094827/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-13529344 |date=22 October 2018 }}. (27 May 2011) [[BBC]]. Retrieved 27 May 2011.</ref>

The [[North Ronaldsay sheep]] is an unusual breed of domesticated animal, subsisting largely on a diet of [[seaweed]], since they are confined to the foreshore for most of the year to conserve the limited grazing inland.<ref name=SheepCentre2>{{cite web|url=http://www.sheepcentre.co.uk/sheep_breeds.htm|publisher=Seven Sisters Sheep Centre|work=Sheep Breeds|title=North Ronaldsay|access-date=23 April 2009|archive-date=25 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425140946/http://sheepcentre.co.uk/sheep_breeds.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The island was also a habitat for the Atlantic [[walrus]] until the mid-16th century.<ref name=Roy,1960>{{citation |publisher=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 122:129–142.|title= Trichecodon huxlei (Mammalia: Odobenidae) in the Pleistocene of southeastern United States.}}</ref>

The Orkney char (''[[Salvelinus inframundus]]'') used to live in Heldale Water on Hoy and has not been observed since 1908, so is now considered to be [[extinct]].<ref>[http://www.fishbase.org/summary/speciessummary.php?id=49340 "Salvelinus inframundus: Regan, 1909"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229223727/http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=49340 |date=29 December 2007 }} – FishBase. Retrieved 5 January 2013.</ref><ref>{{Cite iucn|author=Ford, M. |date=2024 |title=''Salvelinus inframundus'' |volume=2024 |page=e.T135414A137331529 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T135414A137331529.en |access-date=14 February 2025}}</ref>

===Stoat problem and solution===
[[File:Mustela_erminea_upright.jpg|thumb|175px|Stoat]]

The introduction of non-native [[stoat]]s since 2010, a natural predator of the [[common vole]] and thus of the [[Orkney vole]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/2013/09/04/revealed-the-orkney-voles-prehistoric-links-to-belgium/|title=Orkney vole is from Belgium|access-date=10 April 2016|archive-date=30 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730022721/http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/2013/09/04/revealed-the-orkney-voles-prehistoric-links-to-belgium/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/2006/11/30/academics-ponder-orkneys-fox-farming-past/|title=Orkney Fox in Neolithic era|access-date=10 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205013541/http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/2006/11/30/academics-ponder-orkneys-fox-farming-past/|archive-date=5 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> was also harming native bird populations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snh.gov.uk/land-and-sea/managing-wildlife/orkney-stoats/|title=Orkney Stoats|access-date=10 April 2016|archive-date=21 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421212243/http://www.snh.gov.uk/land-and-sea/managing-wildlife/orkney-stoats/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[NatureScot]], Scotland's nature agency, provided these additional specifics:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/land-and-sea-management/managing-wildlife/orkney-native-wildlife-project |title=Orkney Native Wildlife Project |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=5 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305231138/https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/land-and-sea-management/managing-wildlife/orkney-native-wildlife-project |url-status=live }}</ref><blockquote>The introduction of a ground predator like the stoat to islands such as Orkney, where there are no native ground predators, is very bad news for Orkney's native species. Stoats are accomplished predators and pose a very serious threat to Orkney's wildlife, including: the native Orkney vole, [[hen harrier]], [[short-eared owl]] and many ground nesting birds.</blockquote>

In 2018, a stoat eradication project was presented by NatureScot to be applied "across Orkney Mainland, South Ronaldsay, Burray, Glimps Holm, Lamb Holm and Hunda, and the biosecurity activities delivered on the non-linked islands of the archipelago". The Orkney Native Wildlife Project planned to use "humane DOC150 and DOC200 traps".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2020-05/Orkney%20Native%20Wildlife%20Project%20-%20SEA%20consultation%20-%20SEA%20Environmental%20report.pdf |title=The Orkney Native Wildlife Project |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=18 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818210934/https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2020-05/Orkney%20Native%20Wildlife%20Project%20-%20SEA%20consultation%20-%20SEA%20Environmental%20report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The partners in the five-year project include [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds|RSPB Scotland]], [[Scottish Natural Heritage]] and Orkney Islands Council.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-45975295 |title=Orkney stoat eradication project awarded £6m |work=BBC News |date=25 October 2018 |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816103308/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-45975295 |url-status=live }}</ref> A report issued in October 2020 stated that over 5,000 traps had been deployed. Specifics were provided as to the locations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/orkney/b/orkney-blog/posts/stoatsnippet92 |title=Orkney Native Wildlife Project |date=20 October 2020 |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129224120/https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/orkney/b/orkney-blog/posts/stoatsnippet92 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Not all was going well as of 15 January 2021, according to ''[[The Times]]'', which stated that the project "has been hit by alleged sabotage after the destruction and theft of traps that have also killed and injured household pets and other animals" but added that the £6 million programme was supported by most islanders.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/stoats-of-orkney-weasel-out-of-cull-thanks-to-saboteurs-6070v3spn |title=Stoats of Orkney weasel out of cull thanks to saboteurs |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115073125/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stoats-of-orkney-weasel-out-of-cull-thanks-to-saboteurs-6070v3spn |url-status=live |last1=Watson |first1=Jeremy }}</ref> Another news item stated that some of the traps had "caught and killed family pets as well as hundreds of other animals".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19011526.row-stoat-cull-mass-deaths-animals/ |title=Row over stoat cull after mass deaths of animals |date=14 January 2021 |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119053847/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19011526.row-stoat-cull-mass-deaths-animals/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A subsequent report confirmed that "Police Scotland is investigating a number of incidents involving damage to and the theft of stoat traps in Orkney".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.orcadian.co.uk/police-investigate-stoat-trap-damage/#:~:text=Police%20Scotland%20is%20investigating%20a,Deerness%20and%20Evie%20throughout%202020. |title=Police Investigate Stoat Trap Damage 11 January 2021 |date=11 January 2021 |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207122440/https://www.orcadian.co.uk/police-investigate-stoat-trap-damage/#:~:text=Police%20Scotland%20is%20investigating%20a,Deerness%20and%20Evie%20throughout%202020. |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Protected areas===
There are 13 [[Special Protection Area]]s and 6 [[Special Area of Conservation|Special Areas of Conservation]] in Orkney.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/S/SPA.htm|title=Special Protection Areas SPA|access-date=25 November 2019|publisher=Orkney Islands Council|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806045531/https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/S/SPA.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/S/SAC.htm|title=Special Areas of Conservation SAC|access-date=25 November 2019|publisher=Orkney Islands Council|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806051531/https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/S/SAC.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of Scotland's 40 [[National scenic area (Scotland)|national scenic area]]s, the [[Hoy and West Mainland National Scenic Area]], is also located in the islands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2017-07/Publication%202010%20-%20SNH%20Commissioned%20Report%20374%20-%20The%20Special%20Qualities%20of%20the%20National%20Scenic%20Areas.pdf|title=The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas|publisher=Scottish Natural Heritage|date=December 2010|access-date=25 November 2019|page=17|archive-date=25 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015417/https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2017-07/Publication%202010%20-%20SNH%20Commissioned%20Report%20374%20-%20The%20Special%20Qualities%20of%20the%20National%20Scenic%20Areas.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The seas to the northwest of Orkney are important for [[sand eel]]s that provides a food source for many species of fish, seabirds, seals, whales and dolphins, and are now protected as [[Marine Protected Areas in Scotland|Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area]] (NCMPA) that covers {{convert|4365|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/North%20West%20Orkney%20-%20Site%20Summary%20Document%20-%20July14.pdf|title=North-west Orkney Marine Protected Area Summary|access-date=25 November 2019|publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/10451|title=North-west Orkney MPA(NC)|access-date=12 October 2020|publisher=NatureScot|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927013349/https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/10451|url-status=live}}</ref>