Two Manx Loaghtan sheep rescued after 80ft cliff fall
- Published
The sheep were rescued my volunteers from the Port Erin RNLI
Two sheep have been rescued from a tiny rocky ledge after falling down an 80ft (25m) cliff on the Isle of Man.
The volunteer RNLI crew from Port Erin were called to rescue the Manx Loaghtan sheep, who were stuck on the ledge with the tide rising at 13:10 BST on Tuesday.
The male and female sheep were cajoled on board the lifeboat and returned to safe ground.
The Manx Loaghtan is a breed of sheep native to the Isle of Man.
Manx Loaghtan Sheep
They have dark brown wool
They usually have four horns but occasionally have six
They are quite a small breed, and do not have any wool on their dark brown faces or legs
They brushed with extinction in the 1950s
RNLI volunteer Jason Fleming said the alarm was first raised by a local fisherman who could not get close enough to bring them to safety.
Mr Fleming said: "The RNLI would never want to see people put themselves at risk to rescue animals, which is often what happens, so we were happy to help.
"They had fallen about 80ft into the water and were obviously very cold and nervous when we arrived.
"The tide was coming in and they would not have survived in the position they were in.
"Both were very well behaved aboard the lifeboat and very happy to be released."
A local fisherman alerted the RNLI after seeing the sheep trapped on the small ledge with the tide rising
The RNLI volunteers said the sheep were well behaved when travelling on their lifeboat
The RNLI said they ran up the slipway towards the rocks and soon located some grass