Feral

The Decline and Increase of Feral Sheep (Ovis aries) on Campbell-Island

Sheep introduced to Campbell Island in 1895 for farming reached numbers of over 8000 in 1916 then declined to 1000 by 1961 (exponential growth rate r = -0.05 p.a.). Numbers increased to around 3000 from 1961 to 1969 (r = 0.14 p.a.). The island was divided into halves by a fence in 1970, and all sheep north of it were killed. The southern population continued to grow from 1970 to 1984 (r = 0.053 p.a.). The southern half of the island was cleared of sheep in 1984 except for about 800 fenced off on a peninsula.