The Orkney Image Library
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Jun 1989
Feral bull. Britain's only domestic cattle living wild, the Swona herd exhibits behaviours that domestication conceals. This old fellow, lame in the right front leg, was isolated from the rest of the herd presumably because he could no longer stand up to the younger, pushier bulls. Castration of bull calves hasn't been carried out on Swona since the 1970s I believe, so the ratio of bulls to cows is a natural one rather than the manipulated one seen in the farming environment.
The beacon at the southern end of the island is in the background of the shot.
View Large VersionPicture added on 18 January 2012 at 11:20
Other South Isle
