Nature 306

The sheep may be the superstars of the island today, but their story is one of survival for both man and beast. In the 19th Century, the island was struggling with poverty when its main business of exporting kelp (the iodine-rich ashes of which could be used to make antiseptic balms, soap, glass and pottery) collapsed due to the influx of cheaper European iodine blocks. This led to rural unemployment, but the Laird, or landowner, of North Ronaldsay was quick to introduce a new economy in the shape of cattle.