Calls to rescue Britain's 'loneliest sheep', stuck on cliff for two years

A sheep has been stranded at the foot of a Scottish Highlands cliff for two years, earning the animal the moniker "Britain's loneliest sheep", and prompting animal lovers to call for it to be rescued.

- Eileen Ng

The ewe was first spotted by Ms Jillian Turner during a paddling trip with her kayak club from Balintore to Nigg in Scotland in 2021.

She made the same trip recently and was horrified to see the same sheep - albeit with a thicker, longer coat.

British newspapers have reported on this, calling the ewe Britain's loneliest sheep.

Recalling her first encounter with the animal, Ms Turner said she saw the ewe on a shingle beach at the bottom of a steep, rocky coastline.

"She saw us coming and was calling to us along the length of the beach, following our progress until she could go no further. She finally turned back, looking defeated," she told Scottish newspaper the Northern Times on Oct 24.

While the sighting made an impression on her, Ms Turner was not overly concerned, thinking that the sheep would make its way back to the fields at the top of the cliffs.

However, she was shocked to find the same animal still there when she made the same kayaking trip recently.