Bleat that! RSPCA rescuers 'baa' at stranded ewe and she shows them where she is

A sheep stuck on a mountain for four days was rescued by RSPCA officers . . . after they made sheep noises to locate her.

The ewe was spotted by a woman staying at a holiday park at the foot of Conwy Mountain, North Wales, who noticed she had not moved in four days.

RSPCA inspectors Andrew Broadbent and Mark Roberts were called to the scene where they carried out the rescue – using pruning saws to cut through head-high vegetation.

The ewe had fallen about 20m (65ft) down the cliff face before coming to rest in a dense thicket of brambles which had become entangled in her fleece.

After an hour of searching on the mountain, the officers decided to call out to the ewe by making 'baaing' noises in order to try to locate her.

And, to their delight, the female sheep answered back and they were able to follow the sound of her cries.

The inspectors' ascent up the mountain to reach her was about 100m, but luckily they found that she had not been injured by the fall.

Andrew said: “We took a walker’s path to the right and then made our way down from above, to the area where we thought she’d be.

“It was a hot and challenging climb and it took us about an hour to push and cut our way through the brambles, bracken and gorse – by which time Mark and I had a fair few splinters and scratches.

"We still couldn't see her as the undergrowth was so dense and tall, so we tried to locate her by making bleating noises – and to our relief she replied.

“We kept ‘talking’ to her, getting closer and closer all the time and eventually found her sheltering on a little ridge surrounded by thick brambles.

"After cutting her free and checking for injuries we then followed the path we had just come down, both of us part carrying, part pushing her back up the mountain so she could rejoin her flock.

“It wasn’t the easiest of jobs given the terrain and the fairly warm weather, especially as she kept munching on brambles as we were going along.

"But it was really nice to be able to finally release her after what must have been a stressful and fairly unpleasant ordeal.”

Andrew and Mark then watched as the ewe safely returned to her flock.

The RSPCA advises members of the public who come across sheep trapped in circumstances such as this, not to attempt a rescue themselves.