The world’s loneliest sheep has been finally rescued after being stuck on a rock for two years following an epic rescue mission.
The sheep, earlier known as ewe, has been named Fiona by a group of volunteers who shared how they brought back the sheep to safety after an “epic” mission.
The animal had been stranded on Scotland’s northeastern coast for three years.
Rescue group The Sheep Game declared: “She is in incredible fettle. Britain’s loneliest sheep is lonely no more.
“We have named her Fiona and she’s now safe and well and heading to a well-known Scottish farm park.”
Talking about the rescue mission, the group added on its Facebook page: “The rescue was EPIC!!”
One of those helping out, Ali Williamson, told of using “heavy equipment” to manouevre the sheep up an “incredible slope”.
Ali added: “It was some job lifting her up that slope. She’s going to a very special place where you will be able to see her every day.”
The team used some “heavy equipment” and the Scottish SPCA checked her over.
A hovercraft company had also offered to help last week as people worried that the sheep could not be reached by dinghy or boat because of dangerous rocky conditions near Balintore.
An appeal was also launched last month to save the sheep.
Animal welfare experts at the Scottish SPCA warned any attempted intervention would likely prove “incredibly complex”.
Jillian Turner first spotted the animal when kayaking from Balintore to Nigg in 2021. She was shocked when returning this year to see the sheep remaining in the same place.
She said: “Her fleece on the first occasion was a normal year’s growth – however, on the recent trip the fleece was huge and touching the ground at the back. The poor ewe has been on her own for at least two years – for a flock animal that has to be torture.
“She seemed desperate to make contact with us on the two occasions we have gone past her.”
A farmer is thought to have previously investigated rescue options, while drones were into the area to monitor the ewe’s welfare.
A local boat skipper suggested the animal was taking cover nearby. He said: “There are several caves in that area and it is believed it shelters in at least one of them – that would explain how it has survived. It is astonishing that it has made it through all weathers and in that exposed place – sheltering in a cave would explain it.”
