The Soay sheep provided meat and wool to the inhabitants on St. Kilda. However, man left the islands in the 1930s and the sheep were left completely wild. Because the population is completely unmanaged population cycles occur. With the numbers of sheep reaching high levels every 3 or 4 years, before food runs out and the population crashes. Mortality is usually caused by starvation, many sheep dying throughout winter.
The rutting season occurs in the late autumn, and the lambs are normally born in mid-April. Twins are not uncommon. Because of their small size they have become popular zoo or pet animals. Many more are kept domesticated than are wild living. There small size and tiny hoof size means they cause less soil erosion than larger sheep and they have been used to graze in environmentally sensitive areas such as in nature reserves.
A population is also found on Lundy Island, and was established in 1944. Research into Soay sheep has been conducted on St. Kilda by researchers at Cambridge University. Soay sheep are very hardy strong animals.
