She was dubbed “Britain’s loneliest sheep” after spending two years in solitary existence after falling off a cliff in the Highlands.
But 12 months after her daring rescue, the sheep, Fiona, is struggling to bond with her fellow farm animals and her new owner fears she has “forgotten how to be a sheep”.
The stranded mammal was spotted at the foot of a cliff in the Cromarty Firth by a kayaker last year and it turned out it had been stuck there for more than two years.
A team of five animal lovers rappelled 800ft to get her to safety before she was taken to Dalscone Farm, in Dumfries, where she remains today.
Her heavy fleece, which was so long it dragged on the ground, was sheared and sold for charity, while the three-year-old was also spearheading a campaign against rural loneliness.
Fiona was seen living alone at the foot of a cliff in a remote area of the Highlands.
Fiona was in desperate need of a shearing after her rescue last year.
A year later, farmer Ben Best, who has cared for the sheep since the rescue, admitted that Fiona was struggling a bit.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: “Although she is calm around people and seems to enjoy her life on the farm, she is still getting used to being around other animals.”
“She doesn’t socialize very well with other sheep; I think it’s just from being alone and isolated for over two years at the bottom of that cliff; she’s forgotten how to be a sheep.”
Fiona was first seen by Jillian Turner kayaking along cliffs south of Baltintore, Easter Ross, in 2021.
After returning to the same spot last October, he was upset to see the lone sheep still there and his pictures of Fiona, which became an internet sensation, prompted the rescue operation.
A team, led by professional shearer Cammy Wilson, rappelled down to the beach to retrieve Fiona, who weighed 92kg, from a cave where she had been sheltering.
Using a truck-mounted winch at the top of the cliff, 650 feet of rope, and a feed bag designed as a makeshift sling, rescuers managed to pull her to safety.
Farmer Ben Best fears Fiona has ‘forgotten how to be a sheep’ after two years of living in isolation
Giving the sheep a new home last year, Best said: “The loneliest sheep in the world is no longer alone.”
He described Fiona’s temperament as “laid back” and said the ewe is currently on a diet after “gaining quite a bit of weight”, meaning she will not be able to produce lambs any time soon.
Last December, Fiona starred in a Christmas campaign to combat farming loneliness for RSABI (she founded the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution) and also featured in the Scottish Association of Young Farmers’ Clubs’ mental health message, Are Ewe OK?
Her overgrown wool was sheared and auctioned off for charity in July, helping to raise around £11,000 for good causes.
Fiona’s name was inspired by a story about a New Zealand sheep named after a character from the animated comedy Shrek and was rescued in 2004 before dying at age 16 in 2011.
Wilson said the Scottish sheep had to be named Fiona, after Shrek’s on-screen wife.
