“Britain’s loneliest sheep” has given birth for the first time.
Fiona won hearts across the globe when she was rescued from the foot of a steep coastal cliff close to the Cromarty Firth in the Scottish Highlands in 2023.
Kayaker Jill Turner first spotted the stranded ewe in 2021 and then raised the alarm when she saw her on her own again two years later – which led to Fiona being dubbed “Britain’s loneliest sheep”.
Fiona was winched to safety during a daring rescue mission and taken into the care of Dalscone Farm in Dumfries.
The farm said she had now traded her title for “world’s best mum” after giving birth to two healthy lambs – a boy and a girl – on Tuesday night.
Dalscone Farm manager Ben Best told Sky News a vet was on hand to help Fiona give birth and she has since taken to her new role amazingly well after her nine-hour labour.
He said: “She’s doing great. She was a superstar.
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“Now we’re just making sure that they’re happy and healthy, and that Fiona is maintaining good health as well.
“She’s bounced back from her labour without any issues whatsoever. All the signs are great and we’re making sure the lambs are thriving.”
Given Fiona’s struggle to fully interact with other sheep, it is hoped she will enjoy a close bond with her own little family.
Mr Best said: “The whole reason we put her in lamb is so that she can get that bond with them and she’ll have an amazing companionship going forward in her life.
“I think it’s really going to make a massive difference to her quality of life as well.
“It’s not a decision we took lightly. We had a lot of discussions about whether it was the right thing to do.
“But ultimately, for her as an animal, the best decision was to put her in lamb.”
Mr Best said the pressure had been “intense” over the past five months, especially as the “eyes of the world” would be watching.
He added: “It’s been horrendous – it’s been like a pressure cooker all the time just making sure she’s okay.
“You see her lying in a funny position and you’re like ‘oh no, is she alright’, and keeping her energy levels up and making sure she’s optimum health for going into lambing.
“And actually now looking at it, now she’s had the lambs, her pregnancy was incredibly straightforward. She did great. There were no issues whatsoever.”
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Mr Best said they are yet to decide what the twin lambs will be called.
With Fiona being named after Cameron Diaz’s character in Shrek, consideration is being given to name the newborns after the animated couple’s children.
In the film, Shrek and Princess Fiona have triplets – Fergus, Farkle and Felicia.
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Mr Best said: “We could name them after Shrek’s children, which is Fergus and Felicia.
“Or we could name the boy Cliff and the girl Brora [a Highland village north of where Fiona was found].”
