Climate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep

Not Exactly Rocket Science
By Ed Yong
Jul 2, 2009 11:00 PMNov 5, 2019 12:13 AM

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The island of Hirta, on the western coast of Scotland, is home to a special breed of sheep. Soay sheep, named after a neighbouring island, are the most primitive breed of domestic sheep and have lived on the isles of St Kilda for at least a millennium. They're generally smaller than the average domesticated sheep, and that difference is getting larger and larger. Over the last 20 years, the Soay sheep have started to shrink.

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