Sheep Rescued By Coast Guard After 30-Foot Fall From Island Cliff

A sheep was recently rescued by the Irish Coast Guard after a 30-foot fall from an island cliff. Thankfully, the sheep only sustained minor injuries and was returned to his home on the island. But the island, as it turns out, is not only home to an abundant sheep population; it's also become well known for its farming and thriving wallaby population.

The Journal reported the rescue took place Sunday evening after the Irish Coast Guard received an "unusual call" that a sheep was stuck at the bottom of a cliff on Lambay Island.

The island is privately owned and sits off the east coast of Dublin. It doesn't have a large permanent population; however, its farm produces meat that is distributed throughout Dublin and used in some of the area's Michelin star restaurants, said the island's website. The farm's meat includes lamb and venison. But some of Lambay's special guests can also try fresh wallaby meat.

That's right—this Irish island is home to an abundant wallaby population.

Though wallabies are native to Australia, the island's owners wanted to introduce exotic animal life to Lamaby in the 1950s and '60s, so they decided to raise a small family of wallabies, Smithsonian Magazine reported in 2014. Then, in the 1980s, The Dublin Zoo transported several more wallabies to Lambay. According to the magazine, the zoo's wallaby population had grown too big for its designated enclosure.

Now, thousands of miles from home, a family of wallabies is thriving on Lambay, alongside sheep, deer and sea birds.

With so much going on, it's not surprising that a sheep managed to get lost in the shuffle.

When the Coast Guard arrived at the scene, they noticed the lamb had fallen roughly 32 feet down the side of the cliff. Though he was stuck, Irish Times reported that he wasn't exactly overjoyed to see the rescue crew, and tried to hide in a nearby cave.

Eventually, however, the Coast Guard caught the lamb and brought him to the boat.

"The lamb was seven months old and despite some small cuts was otherwise in good spirits," a Coast Guard spokesman told the Irish Times.

According to the outlet, the team nicknamed the lamb "Lucky Louis."

Once Louis was secure on the boat, the Coast Guard traveled back to the Lambay Island harbor, where he was given back to the island's staff.

"All's wool that ends wool," the Coast Guard joked to the Irish Times.