India, Oct. 23 -- Have you ever had a plan fall apart and then watched things turn out better than expected? A flock of sheep on Virginia's Hog Island lived something like that, and it surprised the people who found them. The story is told by the Livestock Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting rare farm breeds, on its Hog Island sheep page. In 1933, a hurricane destroyed the island, and its inhabitants gradually left, but many sheep were left behind and survived in the wild. In 1978, conservationists discovered that the flock was thriving and animals were moved to safety.

Hog Island is a barrier island located off the coast of Virginia. For hundreds of years, small groups of people and livestock have lived there....