image: Soay sheep inhabit the St. Kilda Island in the outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. This study shows that the Soay sheep and other primitive breeds survived migrations of more modern sheep by returning to a feral or semi-feral state in islands without predators or by occupying inaccessible areas less prone to commercial exchanges. This image relates to an article that appeared in the April 24, 2009, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Chessa at University of Glasgow in Glasgow, UK, and colleagues, was titled, "Revealing the History of Sheep Domestication Using Retrovirus Integrations." view more
Credit: Photograph by Arpat Ozgul