Rescuers had to act fast.
Mountain Rescuers Save Stranded Sheep from Precarious Ledge in Cumbria
This past May, employees at the Honister Slate Mine in Cumbria, England, were startled to find an unexpected visitor perched perilously on a rocky mountain ledge above them — a Herdwick sheep stranded high above the ground. Concerned for the sheep’s safety, and wary of the risk of falling rocks, the workers quickly alerted the Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team.
Rescuers Andrew McNeil, Mike Park, and Tom Durcan arrived swiftly. Upon spotting the sheep — a large, fluffy Herdwick known for its hardy nature and “smiley” expression — they realized she had managed to climb to an awkward and dangerous position on the ridge.
“Somehow, she had found herself in a very tricky spot,” a rescue team representative told The Dodo. “We had to rock climb from below to above the sheep, build an anchor, and lower a team member down to the animal from there.”
The task wasn’t easy. The sheep, lively and alert, made the operation more difficult than expected. But the rescuers persisted, eventually securing the animal and carefully lowering her down from the ledge.
Once back on safe ground, the team gave her a quick health check. Satisfied she was unharmed, they released her — and she nonchalantly trotted off to graze as if nothing had happened.
“She trotted off to eat grass as if nothing had happened,” the representative said with a smile. After a job well done, the rescue team could finally breathe a sigh of relief, proud to have helped one of Cumbria’s iconic creatures return safely to the hillside.