"Britain's loneliest" sheep is rescued after two years alone
Ayrshire, UK - An ewe previously dubbed Britain's loneliest sheep was rescued from the bottom of a remote cliff in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday. The animal was isolated for years, but she was eating well!
The rescued ewe, now named Fiona, spent the last two years at the bottom of a Scottish cliff. She survived by munching on grass and hiding from the elements in a cave.
Fiona was first spotted in her isolated inlet cliff by a kayaker in 2021.
Two years later, that same kayaker was shocked to find the sheep still on the cliff and sounded the alarm. A petition calling for a rescue operation gathered more than 52,000 signatures.
Animal rights activists who wanted to help the animal said that any attempts to rescue here would be "incredibly complex."
On Saturday, five farmers launched a risky rescue mission and luckily succeeded!
Rescuing the sheep from her remote Scottish cliff was risky
Sheep farmer Cameron "Cammy" Wilson, from the Scottish county of Ayrshire, organized the rescue mission.
After reports about the ewe's plight prompted social media users to claim farmers don't care about their animals, Cammy decided he had to help.
Per Cammy, Fiona's owner couldn't help her because he didn't want to put himself or his employees in danger. Rescuing Fiona "took five idiots," Cammy said in a video posted to The Sheep Game Facebook page.
"The only difference between us being heroes and idiots is a slip of the foot," Cammy told the BBC. Fiona's rescuers had to be lowered 820 feet down the cliff face to reach the sheep, and once they found her, they had to pull her up. That was hard work because this sheep had been eating well and had years of heavy wool on her.
"Thankfully, the sheep is in good bodily condition, aside from needing to be sheared," a spokesperson for The Scottish SPCA said.
Fiona's gotten a very needed shearing and has been moved to Dalscone Farm in Dumfries. There, she's set to spend the rest of her days no longer on her own but with other sheep.
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/Facebook/The Sheep Game