‘World’s loneliest sheep’ rescued from cliff base after 2 years

CROMARTY FIRTH, Scotland (CNN) - The “world’s loneliest sheep” is lonely no more after being rescued from a cliff in Scotland.

The sheep, dubbed Fiona, lived in a cave at the base of a cliff in the Cromarty Firth for at least two years. It’s presumed she fell down the hill when she was young, but no one had the will or a way to rescue her – until now.

A group of five farmers rescued Fiona on Saturday by climbing down the cliff, putting her in a canvas feed bag with a hole for her nose and winching her up.

“She was so relaxed throughout the whole thing. As we were bringing her up, she was actually nibbling at the grass. It was surreal. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Cammy Wilson, who helped with the rescue.

Fiona was looking pretty scraggly, but even after they sheared off 20 pounds of wool, she was still overweight. She was taken to Dalscone Farm Fun, a farm park the public pays to visit.

The farm says a veterinarian examined Fiona, and she had no worms or flukes.

Animal rights activists started a petition to send Fiona to a sanctuary, and they protested outside the farm. The activists had been visiting the sheep in recent days, getting her used to people before they say they planned to bring her up, but the farmers beat them to it.

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