History
The Skyros Sheep was already mentioned in 1954 by I.N.Dimitriadis as a representative of mountain type sheep occurring on the Greek islands and descending from the Zackel breed. It greatly resembles the breeds of Sarakatsaniko, Vlach and Samothraki sheep and especially the smaller Sitia sheep. Skyros sheep are undemanding, hardy and adapted to the harsh environment of their native island. The purest herds survive in the southern part of Skyros where prolonged droughts and overall water shortages are recurrent issues. In south Skyros there are many unattended free-ranging sheep surviving year-round without shelter.
The Skyros sheep is threatened by random crosses and conditions of intense overgrazing all too evident in its traditional breeding grounds. The breed has not been studied in detail. Its low productivity is partly due to poor management conditions.
Population
The estimated population amounts to 2,000 sheep, classifying the breed in the ‘Minority’ status.