Манкс Логтан: Редкая порода овец с острова Мэн

Breed of sheep

The Manx Loaghtan (//'/l//ɒ//x//t//ə//n/ LOKHtən) is a rare breed of sheep (Ovis aries) native to the Isle of Man. It is sometimes spelled as Loaghtyn or Loghtan. The sheep have dark brown wool and usually four or occasionally six horns. The Manx Loaghtan is one of the Northern European short tailed sheep breeds, and descends from the primitive sheep once found throughout Scotland, the Hebrides, and Shetland Islands. The word Loaghtan comes from the Manx words lugh dhoan, which mean mouse brown and describe the colour of the sheep. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust has characterised the Loaghtan as "at risk". By the 1950s there were only 43 surviving specimens. Manx National Heritage developed two healthy flocks. These have given rise to commercial flocks on the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and Jersey. Even so, today there are still fewer than 1,500 registered breeding females.

The Manx Loaghtan is a small sheep, with no wool on their dark brown faces and legs. The sheep have short tails and are fine boned. In the past century the sheep's colour has stabilised as "moorit", that is shades between fawn and dark reddish brown, though the colour bleaches in the sun. Manx Loaghtan usually have four horns, but individuals are also found with two or six horns. The horns are generally small on the ewes but larger and stronger on the males. An adult female weighs about 40 kg, and an adult male weighs around 60 kg.

The Loaghtan is farmed for its meat on the Isle of Man, with only two principal farms on the island producing it. There are now many holdings on the UK mainland that also breed Loaghtans, including some farms with over 100 ewes: for example the Fowlescombe Flock in Devon. This gourmet meat is highly prized, often being sold as hogget or mutton from well finished animals. A 15 month old will yield a carcass of 18 kg of lean meat. In 2014, two shepherds cared for a flock that had grown from 20 to 231 animals. The wool from Jersey's flock of Loaghtans is sold locally.

There appears to be a link between the presence of Loaghtan sheep and the ability of the chough to thrive. Studies on Ramsey Island, Bardsey Island, and the Isle of Man have found that as the number of grazing sheep fell, so did the number of breeding choughs; when sheep grazing increased, so did the number of breeding choughs. This appears to be happening on Jersey as well. As the Loaghtans graze, they crop and trample the grass. This enables the birds to reach surface active and soil insects. Also, the dung the sheep leave draws beetles and fly larvae. These insects in turn are a resource for the birds when the ground is hard or other insects are scarce.