Fiona the sheep

I was delighted on Saturday to learn of the rescue of Britain’s loneliest sheep. Fiona’s story went viral late last month after a plea from a kayaker who had spotted her while kayaking off the coast of Brora in Scotland way back in 2021. The sheep had apparently called out to the group and followed them along the beach. Then last month the kayaker went back and was dismayed to discover the sheep was still there but now weighed down under 10kg of fleece.

Sheep are social animals and typically live in flocks so there was an animal welfare issue with her being entirely alone for so long. She also needed shearing. They think Fiona fell down the cliff when she was a lamb and the steep slope made it impossible for her to get back to the flock.

Within a week of the story going viral at least two separate groups were planning rescue missions. It makes me wonder why it took so long? The landowner knew the sheep was there but can’t have tried very hard to rescue her if two separate groups were willing and able to rescue her with just a week of planning.

It’s seems surprising she survived for so long but there were caves for shelter and plenty of grass. Indeed her rescuers described her as slightly overweight. In a way she’s lucky. Had she not fallen down the cliff she’d have probably become lamb chops by now.

She was eventually rescued by a group of farmers who have taken her to Dalscone Farm where she’ll be able to live out her days. They have a Facebook page where they’ve been giving regular updates via live streams.

The other planned rescue mission was by a group of animal activists who were lied to by the farmer/landowner. They were planning to take Fiona to a sanctuary. I’ll share an image of their story.

I can understand why they’re angry. I would be too. But I think she’s a very lucky sheep and it looks like she’ll be well-cared for in her new home. It’s nice to have a happy news story with all the awful happenings in the world.

There was a sheep in NZ who was discovered in 2004 without having been sheared for 8 years. He became famous and was named Shrek (which is how this ewe got the name Fiona). His fleece weighted 27kg when it was eventually removed. It’s a wonder he could stand up with all that!