What do you see in the picture?
What do you notice? What do you think this story is about?
The picture shows a sheep on a cliff in Scotland.
What do you know about sheep?
Sheep are usually highly social animals; they don’t like
isolation.
What is isolation? Why do you think sheep don’t like
isolation?
This story is about a sheep who spent two years in isolation
on at the bottom of a cliff in Scotland. The sheep became something of a local
legend as it kept being spotted by people passing by on fishing boats. The
first person to spot the sheep was a kayaker in 2021.
What is a kayak?
Two years later the same kayaker spotted the sheep again.
The sheep appeared to be healthy; not malnourished at all, but a little
scruffy.
How is the sheep surviving? Why is the sheep
scruffy?
Other people on fishing boats also spotted the sheep and it
was soon given a name – Fiona. No-one knew how the sheep got there.
Can you think of an explanation for how the sheep got to the bottom of the cliff and why it was staying there?
A petition started on the mainland to rescue Fiona and over
50,000 people signed it. However, rescuing Fiona was a problem.
What do you think was the problem?
A Scottish animal rescue organisation called the rescue “incredibly complex” because of the terrain being so inaccessible but also because human interaction with Fiona was likely to cause her extreme stress. So a group of five farmers hatched a plan. They were going to rescue Fiona.
How do you think they did it?
The farmers used a lot of rope and a lot of patience. They found Fiona in a cave and hoisted her to safety. Fiona was taken to Dalscone Farm in Dumfries, Scotland. Here her new owner said she was healthy and relaxed. People can visit the farm, see the animals and feed them.
Some people argued Fiona shouldn’t have been rescued. Did Fiona want to be rescued? They say she is now in a place like a “petting zoo” where she will be among people who can touch her all day. The farmer replied, Fiona would be kept away from the public “until she’s ready for it.”
Can you see different points of
view here?
What is your opinion on this
story?
Who was the outsider in this
story?
Do you think Fiona chose to be an
outsider? Do people want to be an outsider sometimes?
What is the difference between
choosing to be an outsider and being made to feel like an outsider? Is it the same feeling, is there a
difference?
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