Swona

What do Swona cattle look like?

Swona cattle are a feral herd of beef animals that live on their own on a small Orkney island. Every animal there today comes from eight cows and a single bull, a Shorthorn and Aberdeen-Angus cross, left behind in 1974. There are no people, no byre and no hand feeding, and bulls, cows and calves run together. In 2004 the group was ten bulls, four cows and two calves, an odd balance with more males than females. Two calves are born in most springs and some do not reach adulthood. Numbers settled near seventeen head by 2012 and stood at twenty-three in 2017. The diet is grass and seaweed.

Where does the Swona come from?

People lived on Swona from roughly 500 BC until 1974. In the summer of 1973 Arthur Rosie left the island, and he died soon afterwards. James and Violet Rosie, a brother and sister, were the last to go, in March 1974. Their cattle stayed behind: eight cows and one bull of Shorthorn and Aberdeen-Angus breeding. Five generations on, the World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds gave the herd breed status. The island's own name is Norse. Svíney or Swefney can be read as Sweyn's Isle or Swine Isle, and a like-named island, Svínoy, lies in the Faroes.

What the Swona is known for

Nobody feeds these animals and nobody shelters them. They have grown hardy by themselves, since the weakest do not last, and the herd has settled into a pattern of easy calving and low demands. A vet looks them over once a year and finds them free of disease, a result of long separation from the mainland. They have gone back to wild habits and are not handled. In summer the main group drifts to the middle of the island. Grass and seaweed make up the diet.

How the Swona is bred and kept

The herd breeds without help. Two calves are born in most springs, and not every one reaches adulthood. Over the years the animals that cope best with wind, salt and thin grazing are the ones that pass on their genes, so the group has selected itself for hardiness and trouble-free calving. The island sets the ceiling: by 2012 numbers had settled at about seventeen, which seems to be as many as the place can carry. For genetic study, tissue has been gathered from the ears of animals found dead.

What the Swona is kept for

The animals are beef cattle by breeding, but nobody markets them now. No one milks, works or houses them; the herd lives by itself on the island. Their one known effect on human property is a hole in the old boat Hood, which lies above the landing stage and serves the cows as a scratching post. Visitors see them from the water, since the ferry from Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope often passes close, depending on the tide. Their value today is as a self-made breed and a wild population rather than as farm stock.

The land and climate of the Swona

Swona covers around 92 hectares, some two kilometres long and 800 metres across, rising to 41 metres at Warbister Hill. Old Red Sandstone makes up the island, with cliffs along its eastern side. It sits in the Pentland Firth between Orkney and Caithness, in a tidal stream so strong that races and whirlpools form at both ends. There is no regular boat service. The cattle graze the open ground through the year and find shelter where they can; in summer they gather in the island's centre.

Who keeps the Swona

The last household on Swona was the Rosie family. Arthur Rosie left in 1973 and died soon after; James and Violet Rosie, brother and sister, went ashore for the final time in March 1974. James had Parkinson's disease and died around 1976; Violet died in South Ronaldsay around 1984. They came back to the island only now and then. Since then nobody has kept the cattle. Two Orkney farmers owned the island in 2005 but could not work it, because access is so awkward.

Custom and folk tradition

Boats were built on Swona for many years, and the last of them, the Hood, still lies pulled up by the landing stage, no longer fit for water. Cows rub against it, and their rubbing made the hole in its side. The strong currents have caused many wrecks, among them the Danish freighter Pennsylvania, lost in 1931 and later bought by a group of men from Stroma and Swona. The abandoned houses keep their furniture and belongings as they were left. Cal Flyn wrote about the island in Islands of Abandonment (2020).

Keeping Swona cattle

There is no routine care. The herd takes grass and seaweed and receives no extra feed. A vet checks the animals each year, and they have stayed free of disease. Handling is not possible, since they have reverted to wild behaviour and keep away from people. The old boat Hood shows what happens when they find something to scratch against.

Related breeds and crosses

The herd began as a cross of two British beef breeds, Shorthorn and Aberdeen-Angus. Eight cows and one bull made up the whole of the founding stock, and five generations later the descendants were listed in the World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds in their own right. No other breed is named in connection with these animals.

Numbers, conservation and the herd book

Numbers are small and set by the island. In 2004 the herd held ten bulls, four cows and two calves; by 2012 it averaged about seventeen, close to the most the grazing can support; a count in 2017 came to twenty cows and calves with three bulls. Roughly two calves arrive each spring and not all survive. Swona is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of an Important Bird Area, noted for rare plants and for seabirds such as Arctic terns and Atlantic puffins.

Questions people ask about Swona

Good reading and sources

• Passengers evacuated from grounded ferry in Pentland FirthBBC, Article

• Swona on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data