‘Britain’s loneliest sheep’ rescued after being stranded on cliff for 2 years

A sheep dubbed “Britain’s loneliest sheep” has been rescued by a group of farmers after being

stranded at the foot of a Scottish Highlands cliff

for two years.

The sheep, now called Fiona, was rescued by five men on Saturday using heavy equipment, said one of the rescuers, Mr Cammy Wilson.

Two of the men stayed at the top of the cliff to operate a winch, while three others were lowered 250m below to reach the sheep, reported the BBC.

The ewe was found in a cave.

“We got the sheep up an incredibly steep slope,” said Mr Wilson, a sheep shearer from Ayrshire county in south-west Scotland, who was moved to mount a rescue after reading about the animal’s plight.

“She is over-fat, and it was some job lifting her up that slope,” he added in a video posted on Facebook, which shows the rescued ewe at the back of their vehicle.

In a video update a few hours later, Mr Wilson said Fiona was in an “incredible condition, apart from the (thick) fleece which will come off tomorrow”.

The animal was first spotted by Ms Jillian Turner during a paddling trip in 2021. During a recent trip, she was horrified to see the same sheep – which was now sporting overgrown fleece.

Describing the situation as “heartrending”, Ms Turner said: “The poor ewe has been on her own for at least two years – for a flock animal that has to be torture, and she seemed desperate to make contact with us on the two occasions we’d gone past her.”

British newspapers reported on this, calling the ewe “Britain’s loneliest sheep”, which prompted animal lovers to call for her rescue.

The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was aware of the stranded sheep, but was unable to find a safe way to rescue it. The organisation said on Saturday it was on site when the rescue took place.

“The team brought the ewe up successfully and our inspector examined her,” said a spokesman in a statement.

“Thankfully the sheep is in good bodily condition, aside from needing to be sheared. She will now be taken to a specialist home within Scotland to rest and recover.”

Animal lovers who have been calling for Fiona’s rescue cheered the news.

“Today is a day we get to celebrate. We helped save the life of a gorgeous, lonely sheep,” said Mr Edoardo L’Astorina, who started a petition to rescue the sheep on Oct 29.

The petition on Change.org has since garnered more than 55,000 signatures.

Ms Joanna Godrey said on the Change.org petition: “This good news has really made my day. So refreshing to see such a good news story for once, and how people power can make amazing things happen. Thank you to all the brave souls that rescued her.”

On Facebook, Ms Petra Warland said: “All these organisations couldn’t sort out her rescue, and five salt of the earth Scots, a big ATV (all-terrain vehicle) and a long rope got it done. Well done!”

However, Ms Pamela Allen cheekily said: “She’ll be so surprised (to) see sheep again she might be a bit grumpy.”