Baa-rilliant - Meet the woollier residents of the wildlife park

An unusual lamb was born at the beginning of April that was totally unexpected.

The new arrival was born to a Cameroon sheep, and it had staff completely puzzled as to who the father was.

As far as they knew this sheep had not been with a tup (male). But there must have been a rendezvous at some point!

Following an investigation, it was finally concluded that a Soay tup from the neighbouring field must have been on an adventure, broke through the fence, mated with the female Cameroon and then headed back to his flock.

However, the result was a good one and with a beautiful healthy lamb that is now a year old.

Now that we are in April staff are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first Herdwick lamb.

A herd of curious sheep (Image: Lake District Wildlife Park)

The Park forms part of the Armathwaite Hall Estate where the ever-increasing herds of sheep spend their days grazing.

With three different breeds: Herdwick, Soay and Cameroon, April is a busy time of year.

In preparation for lambing  the Herdwicks were carefully moved to a quiet field with plenty of grass where they have settled well.

With this flock, staff are confident that they know who the daddy is. He is a very handsome, strong Herdwick tup and his offspring like all Herdwicks are expected to be confident and extremely hardy.

Two of the sheep breeds (Image: Lake District Wildlife Park)

The Soay flock which are a small hardy breed from the island of Soay in Scotland are also due to have lambs soon. They have a thick coat which they shed naturally that doesn’t require shearing.

The Cameroon sheep are not due to have lambs this year, but if it turns out like last year... staff could be conducting another investigation.

A field of sheep (Image: Lake District Wildlife Park)

Herdwicks have very endearing faces and make very good photography projects!

Primrose, Violet, and Bluebell were the three original Herdwicks that arrived at the park in 2021 from a very special farm in the Lake District.

A ewe with lambs (Image: Lake District Wildlife Park)

They came from Yew Tree Farm in Coniston, which was the home of Beatrix Potter in the 1930s. They now live on the Park in a neighbouring paddock to the Cameroon Sheep.

These cheeky sheep like nothing more than being hand fed by guests to the Park. You can hear them 'baa' from afar as soon as they see someone coming.

Hopefully it won’t be long until there are some lambs for visitors to see running around, with a spring in their step! Keep an eye on our social media feeds and we will let you know of any new arrivals.