Estonian Ruhnu sheep ( et, Ruhnu maalammas) are a breed of native domesticated

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticated ...

found on the small

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

n island of

Ruhnu Ruhnu ( sv, Runö; german: Runö; lv, Roņu sala) is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is administratively part of Saare County but is geographically closer to the Latvian mainland. At , it has currently fewer than 10 ...

in the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) 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 c ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

. 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 and

wool Wool is the textile fibre 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 properties similar to animal wool. ...

.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 short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...

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 manuf ...

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 European sheep breeds, Ruhnu sheep, as well as

Roslag sheep The Roslag sheep ( sv, Roslagsfår) is a breed of endangered domesticated sheep that originated in and is almost exclusively found in Sweden. Origins Roslag sheep originate from the remnant populations of Swedish landrace breeds that used to b ...

and

Dala Fur sheep Dala may refer to: Places *Dala Airport, Dalarna province, Sweden *Dala, Angola *Dala, Bhutan *Dala, Kano, Nigeria **Dalla Hill, a hill in Kano, Nigeria * Đala, Serbia * Dalas, Khuzestan Province, Iran *Dala Township, Yangon, Myanmar People * ...

(both originating in Sweden) 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. The length of the island is and width , the highest point is at above sea level. The island belongs ...

References

{{Reflist Sheep breeds Sheep breeds originating in Estonia Ruhnu