Estonian Ruhnu sheep () are a breed of native domesticated

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

found on the small

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n island of

Ruhnu Ruhnu (; ; ) is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. Its territory of is administratively part of Saare County, Saare ''maakond'' (county). Ruhnu lies geographically closer to the coast of Courland on the mainland of Latvia ...

in the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia (, , ) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main connection between the gulf and t ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. The Estonian Ruhnu sheep population is thought to descend from sheep left on Ruhnu by Swedish-speaking inhabitants who settled on the island in the 14th century. In 1944, a population of 300 sheep was documented. The current population of the breed is around 30 animals. It is thought that Estonian Ruhnu sheep were originally raised for producing

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

.Grigaliūnaitė, Ilma et al. (2003
Microsatellite Variation in the Baltic sheep breeds
''Veterinaria ir zootechnika'' 21, 66-73. Physical adaptations of the Estonian Ruhnu sheep population to seaside pastures and small paddocks suggests that these sheep have had a rather long period to adapt to their environment. Most of the small population of Ruhnu sheep are white or cream colored with greyish head and legs and some have a distinctive "

badger Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by the ...

face" pattern. The ewes are polled, and approximately 10% of rams are horned. The sheep have short or medium- length tails. Distinctive from many other breeds of sheep, some Estonian Ruhnu sheep have one or two beads under the jaw. The wool is double-coated and of two fibre types and it is generally used for making hand

knitting yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufac ...

and clothing, such as sweaters. Adult rams reach a weight of a maximum of 80 kg (175 lb) and 50 kg (110 lbs) among the ewes. Although there is considerable genetic variation in most of the

northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

an sheep breeds, Ruhnu sheep, as well as Roslag sheep and Dala Fur sheep (both originating in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

) exhibit the highest within-population inbreeding.Tapio, Miika et al. (2005)
Native breeds demonstrate high contributions to the molecular variation in northern European sheep
Molecular Ecology 14 (13), 3951–3963. While the Ruhnu breed was found to be less variable than other Baltic sheep breeds, indicating the need for a breed management plan to prevent further loss of genetic variation, the population size of around 30 sheep is listed as stable. All remaining Estonian Ruhnu sheep on the island live in one semimanaged existing flock, with several individual sheep living on the Estonian island of

Kihnu Kihnu is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of , it is the largest island in the Gulf of Riga and the seventh largest island of Estonia. With a length of and width of , the island's highest point is above sea level. Kihnu belongs to P ...

References

{{Reflist Sheep breeds Sheep breeds originating in Estonia Ruhnu