What became of Britain's 'loneliest' sheep Fiona?

Fiona has been at a farm park in Dumfries for nearly a year since her rescue

A year has passed since Fiona the sheep hit the headlines after being described as the loneliest in Britain.

In October 2023 a kayaker photographed her trapped at the foot of a steep cliff at the Cromarty Firth, two years after a previous sighting.

It prompted a rescue operation in early November before the ewe was taken to a farm park in southern Scotland.

She has now been at her new home on Dalscone Farm in Dumfries for almost 12 months.

Fiona was given her name following a story about another sheep which was discovered living alone in New Zealand several years ago.

Professional shearer Cammy Wilson - who led the Scottish rescue operation - said that sheep was named after the animated character Shrek, so she had to be named Fiona, after his on-screen wife.

Farmer Ben Best at Dalscone has been overseeing her recovery and helping her get used to being around other animals again.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme there had been ups and downs in the process.

Fiona the sheep was in poor condition when she was rescued

"Fiona was rescued from the bottom of a cliff just coming up to a year ago now," he said. "It was one of my friends who actually rescued her.

"With the global attention that was on her he wanted her to come to somewhere that can document her life and she is not just going to disappear into the background and you never hear from her again."

Since then, the farm has been monitoring her progress and also sharing it with a wider public.

Fiona was brought to Dumfries just under a year ago

"We do loads on social media with live videos and documenting our farming lives so we were the perfect fit and she has settled in just nicely," said Ben.

When Fiona turned up at the farm she was not quite what they had expected.

"I was expecting when she first arrived to get a sheep that was pretty much emaciated, not doing so well and was needing a dose for worms," he said.

"But actually we received a sheep that was in extremely good order and was actually a bit overweight and was thriving. It was a bit of surprise."

They also thought she might be skittish around people but that has not been the case.

Farmer Ben Best said Fiona had proved surprisingly calm around people

"She is very placid, she is quite laid back and not what we expected whatsoever - but in a good way," said Ben.

While she is calm with people and seems to enjoy her life on the farm, she is still getting used to being around other animals," he said.

"She doesn't socialise very well with other sheep - I think it is just from being down by herself and isolated for over two years at the bottom of that cliff - she has kind of forgotten how to be a sheep," he explained.

"We have tried her in with several different friends and we have had to take them back out because she really doesn't get on with them that well."

Among other things she has also helped to front a mental health awareness campaign around the issue of loneliness in farming.

However, there has been one aspect of her life which has prompted the farm to take action.

Fiona has been put on a diet and is unlikely to produce any offspring any time soon

"She wanders about quite freely and she likes to help herself to as much hay as she wants and as much feed as she wants- so she is on a diet now after putting on a fair bit of weight," said Ben.

That, in turn, means there is no prospect of her producing lambs any time soon.

"The fact of her losing weight too rapidly could be quite bad for her," he added.

"If she goes into lamb she is likely to be feeding the lambs and losing weight quite quickly and that can cause a fatty liver which can be quite dangerous.

"So we have to take her weight loss quite slowly and make sure she is in perfect condition if she was ever to go to the ram - and that's a big if.

"We just need to make sure all the conditions are right for her.

"As you can imagine with being such a global superstar we have to make sure everything is absolutely spot on and perfect conditions for her."