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Five farmers rally to save 'world's loneliest sheep' who spent 2 years stranded by herself

A wonderful story of humans helping animals.

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Fiona the sheep had been stranded for two years all by herself.

Sheep are hardy, resilient animals. Depending on the breed, they thrive in the driest of desserts and snowiest of planes. But being highly social animals, one thing they cannot tolerate is isolation.

So imagine poor Fiona, a sheep who spent more than two years in solitude at the bottom of a cliff in Scotland.

Dubbed Britain's, then the world’s “loneliest sheep,” Fiona had become something of a local legend—first spotted by a kayaker in 2021, and then again two years later, not malnourished and in good condition, but with badly overgrown fleece and in need of a good shearing.

How exactly Fiona became stuck at the bottom of a cliff was a mystery. But hauling her out was an even more confounding problem.

Despite over 50,000 people signing a petition to rescue Fiona, the Scottish SPCA called the safety logistics “incredibly complex” due to the terrain being so inaccessible, not to mention any human interaction likely causing extreme stress for the stranded rescuee.

That’s when a group of five farmers—including sheep farmer and BBC presenter Cammy Wilson, and Youtube star Graeme Parker— took things into their own hands.

With a whole lotta rope, and a whole lotta patience, the team successfully found Fiona in a cave (a little overweight, perhaps eating her lonely feelings a bit) and hoisted her up the steep cliff to safety.

Watch the harrowing resc-ewe mission below. Gotta say, the drone footage makes it look even more epic.

Fiona was then taken to Dalscone Farm Fun, a new forever home, where her new owner, Ben Best, dubbed her healthy and relaxed, even if she “could lose a few pounds.” (“As it Happens, CBC Radio)

Though animal rights activists did show concern with Fiona’s new living situation, likening it closer to a “petting zoo” than the sanctuary she deserved, Best affirmed that was not the case, saying "It's effectively a farm where people can go and visit the animals, but they don't go in amongst the animals.”

He also added that she would be kept away from the public eye for five-to-six months, and not step into the limelight until she’s ready for it.

And there you have it, folks. Fiona might have once been the world’s loneliest sheep, but now she’s living it up like the star she is.


This article originally appeared on 11.14.23

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A wild Eurasian crow befriended a toddler and won't leave his side

Crows are so much smarter than we think.

via Ercan Evcimen/Pexels

A Eurasian crow.

A family from Denmark has created a touching video montage documenting their unique friendship with a wild Eurasian crow. This crow, affectionately named Russell, has become an honorary member of their household, forming special bonds with each family member, including the pets.

However, the crow's relationship with their son, 2-year-old Otto, is truly extraordinary. “They could spend hours just playing,” Otto’s mother, Laerke Luna, says in a video shared by The Dodo. "When Otto is outside, he will never leave Otto’s side.”

Russell, the free-spirited crow, ventures away from the family's home from time to time, but never for too long. He always comes back and announces his return by tapping on the door, swooping in to lounge on the sofa, or awaiting Otto's return from school atop their roof.

“When we are inside, he will sit inside the window because he wants Otto to go outside with him,” Laerke said.

The family’s relationship with Russell didn’t come out of nowhere. When Russell was a young bird, he had health problems so the family took him and nursed the bird back to health. Eventually, they witnessed his first attempts to fly.

Recently, Russell became friends with another family member, their second child, Hedwig. Although he does get a little annoyed with the bird’s frequent attempts to nab his pacifier.

Even though it’s rare for humans to strike up such a close bond with a crow, according to research, it’s not that surprising. Audubon says that crows are “some of the smartest animals in the world” with an intelligence “on par with chimpanzees.” They are also very social and family-oriented, so no wonder Russell loves Otto and his family.

Crow Named Russell Waits For His Favorite Kid To Get Home From School | The Dodo


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Lonely baby camel, 'Sir Camelot' gets his very own best friend: A baby cow

The camel would stand and cry because the other animals refused to play.

The Dodo|Facebook

Lonely baby camel becomes best friends with a baby cow

There's something innately heartwarming about two unlikely animals becoming best friends. Whether it's a cat and a dog (which happens fairly often) or its a duck and a hamster, people can't get enough of these unusual animal pairings. But this particular animal pairing is almost beyond the imagination with how ridiculously cute it is.

A baby camel named Sir Camelot was rescued by Speranza Animal Rescue and he quickly found out that the other animals didn't want to be his friend. His humans tried hard to pair him up with some of the other animals but even the horses wanted nothing to do with the camel, running away every time he came near. It clearly hurt the baby's feelings because he would stand and scream when the other animals would run away from him.

Enter Benjamin Button, a baby cow that was just two weeks younger than Camelot. When Benjamin arrived at the animal rescue neither him or Camelot knew what to make of each other, but it only took one night before the pair was bonded.

"Ben was very shy. When we introduced them, at first they kind of looked startled, like, 'what are you?'," Janine Guido explains to The Dodo. "And then we put them in the barn for the night. They just kind of bonded through that gate. And then they started going out together during the day and it was just instantly like two children at play."

The pair were instantly inseparable. They play what looks like tag with each other and have tantrums over sharing just like human siblings. Their relationship is so sweet that it's warming the hearts of people on the internet.

"That was beautiful to watch, thank you you are a very special person doing what you do.thank you," one person writes.

"I love this true story of true friendship. It’s beautiful to see what companionship to do to make two unlikely animals best friends," someone says.

"Awww ... I absolutely loved watching this! Kudos to you for coming up with your "crazy idea" of finding Camelot a friend! They are so cute & funny. I love how their personalities came through. I got such a chuckle over Camelot not sharing," another commenter writes.

You can watch their adorable friendship develop below:

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Science

Brazilian veterinarian gives parrot a second chance at life with a prosthetic beak

The parrot could not survive in the wild without its beak, which is used to build nests, fend off predators and eat.

Photo by Laurent Jollet on Unsplash

Brazilian veterinarian gives parrot a second chance at life.

A parrot in Brazil got a lucky break when it was rescued after someone found it with a severely damaged beak. In fact, most of its little beak was completely gone. Birds use their hard beaks to eat, fend off other animals and build nests, and their mouths are essentially their hands while their feet are busy walking, scratching or holding twigs.

Plus, I don't know if you've paid much close attention to birds, but they don't seem to have a lot of dexterity with their tiny little bird legs. They sort of walk around like peg-legged pirates even though I'm pretty sure birds have knees. (I'm not a bird scientist or a zoologist if that wasn't clear.)

Luckily for this parrot, Renascer ACN, an animal rescue and rehabilitation facility in Planura, Brazil, had a doctor on staff who not only knows if birds have knees but also knew how to make a prosthetic beak.

"Bird beaks are made mostly of bone—they're just a specialized modification of the upper and lower jaw bones shared by almost all vertebrates. The outside of a bird's beak, however, is covered not in skin, but in a thin, shiny sheath of keratin, the same protein that makes up your hair and fingernails," Rebecca Heisman shares on the American Bird Conservatory website.

Heisman also points out that since the beaks on birds are made of bone, they cannot grow back if they're broken off.

According to PetMD, birds who are missing portions of their upper and lower beak are typically unable to adapt and survive, which is what makes this parrot so lucky. While many other veterinarians likely would've recommended humane euthanasia, this bird was spared that fate thanks to a creative doctor.

The bird's upper bill was almost completely gone and its lower bill was broken when Paulo Roberto Martins Nunziata, the founder of Renascer ACN, first saw the bird. Nunziata began working with veterinarian Maria Ângela Panelli Marchió, who specializes in animal orthopedics and creates animal prosthetics out of resin.


“This parrot was found in a terrible condition and had totally lost its beak. Together with veterinarian Maria Ângela Panelli Marchió, we rescued it as soon as we found out,” Nunziata told Bored Panda.

Panelli Marchió reconstructed the lower beak using polymethylmethacrylate and shaped it by hand to the broken bone. But for the upper beak, she had to create the entire prosthetic out of the same material and attach it using metal brackets into what was left of the top beak. The metal holds the new beak in place, and since it's made of resin, it's extremely hard—just like a real beak—and should last for years.

But while the beak reconstruction was a smashing success and is nearly indistinguishable from a natural beak, releasing the parrot wouldn't be safe.

“Today it has a normal life. However, it just can’t be returned to its natural habitat because even though the prosthesis is resistant, there’s a risk of it falling over time, as these animals use their beaks for everything,” Nunziata explained to Bored Panda.

Surprisingly, the reconstruction only took one surgery due to the quick-setting nature of resin, and now this sweet parrot can have a normal life as some lucky person's pet.

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