The Gute is a landrace

Landrace

A landrace is a local variety of a domesticated animal or plant species which has developed largely by natural processes, by adaptation to the natural and cultural environment in which it lives. It differs from a formal breed which has been bred deliberately to conform to a particular standard...

 breed of domestic sheep

Domestic sheep

Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...

 native to the Swedish island of Gotland

Gotland

Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

. The Gute is the most primitive breed native to Sweden, and is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep

Northern European short-tailed sheep

Northern European short-tailed sheep are a group of sheep breeds and landraces from the British Isles, Scandinavia, and the area around the Baltic. They are thought to be derived from the first sheep brought to Europe by early farmers...

. The modern Gotland

Gotland (sheep)

The Gotland, also called the Gotland Pelt , is a breed of domestic sheep named for the Swedish island of Gotland. They are one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds, and are thought to be the product of crossbreeding between the native landrace of the island — called the Gute — with...

  breed is its direct descendant. Unlike the Gotland, the Gute is horned in both rams and ewes, and has a fleece that appears in a wider variety of colors and patterns, which may be shed in the summer. This breed is raised primarily for genetic conservation.

External links

• The Gute Sheep Society of Sweden