Global warming shrinking sheep, well no but BBC Pravda report it as fact.

Hat tip to an all seeing eye for this one.

So, who would have figured that climate change is shrinking sheep in Scotland?

Scientists first began studying Soay sheep, on the island of
Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago, in 1985. Since then, the sheep have
decreased in size by 5% - their legs getting steadily shorter and their body weight decreasing. This strange phenomenon was first reported in 2007, but the reason for it remained under debate.

Well thats one view, but large and small variants on animal species have been known for some time. Naturally BBC Pravda don't actually bother to spend many time looking into that.

Here is a bit on this phenomena.

The giant tortoise and the frog the size of an ant, both native to the Seychelles, exemplify something that happens to animal species that succeed in colonizing new islands: Over time, in their new home, many of them tend to become either gigantic or dwarfed....

In fact here are some facts that can explain why the sheep are a shrinking.

Foster published a brief but influential paper in the journal Nature entitled "Evolution of Mammals on Islands." Claiming "much confusion and contradiction" in the scientific literature on the size of mammals on islands, Foster undertook a survey of 116 insular (island-dwelling) species or subspecies living mostly off the coasts of western North America and Europe. He summarized his findings in the table at right, which indicates whether an island critter is daintier, similarly sized, or brawnier than its presumed mainland ancestor.

The table reveals some interesting trends. Rodents tend toward gigantism, while carnivores, lagomorphs (rabbits and hares), and artiodactyls (deer, hippos, and other even-toed ungulates) are more likely to become dwarfed. Overall, amongst mammal species that colonize islands, big ones have a tendency to shrink while small ones are apt to bulk up. Biologists have come to call Foster's generalization the "island rule."

Another link

There ya go, now calm the fuck down an quit claiming the sky is falling. Not awaiting the BBC to correct that bad science arsewater with some facts any time soon.

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