Soay

English

Soay sheep

Noun

Soay (plural Soays)

1. A primitive breed of domestic sheep descended from feral sheep on the island of Soay, Scotland.

   Synonym: Soay sheep

   • 1961 August 3, Peter Jewell, The wild sheep of St Kilda, New Scientist, No. 246, page 268,

     These apparently wild Soay sheep have bred on the island for centuries, virtually untended by Man. They are a relic of primitive domestic sheep, little improved from their wild progenitors.

   • 2000, Laurence D. Mueller, Amitabh Joshi, Stability in Model Populations, page 250:

     We first discuss a multiyear study on Soay sheep (Ovis aries) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) that has successfully yielded a sophisticated understanding of population regulation (Clutton-Brock et al., 1997).

   • 2009, Alistair J. Wilson, Marco Festa-Bianchet, “5: Maternal Effects in Wild Ungulates”, in Dario Maestripieri, Jill M. Mateo, editors, Maternal Effects in Mammals, page 94:

     Such selective antagonism can be seen as a form of parent-offspring conflict and has been demonstrated in Soay sheep (Wilson et al. 2005c).

Usage notes

The Soay sheep is not taxonomically distinguished from the domestic sheep (both are Ovis aries).

Translations

breed of sheep from Soay

Anagrams

• soya