After 11 days in the snow, ‘miracle sheep’ found alive

Stuart Mactier, a 19-year-old agriculture student in Galloway, Scotland, was using a digger to recover the sheep he and his family lost to a huge 10-foot snow drift when he discovered that some of them were still alive — even after being stuck under the snow for 11 days.

"We actually pulled out four on Monday night and two were alive. But one didn't pull through. Surprisingly, this one was the liveliest out of any we had freed," Mactier said of the lone survivor, an "absolutely fine" and heavily pregnant ewe.

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Watch the "miracle sheep" below:

The Galloway Gazette reported that "a heavily pregnant ewe was found alive and well" on Monday.

Mactier wrapped the sheep in a blanket and fed her a special energy drink, the Scottish Sun reported.

“We put a jacket on it and covered it with a blanket," Mactier told the paper.

”I couldn’t believe it and the most amazing thing is she was absolutely fine. Bright-eyed. The others on top of her were all dead but she had somehow survived,” Mactier told the Galloway Gazette of the 4-year-old Scotch Mule's remarkable survival.

The sheep is still recovering from the ordeal and is expected to give birth soon.

"Normally, in such atrocious conditions, it would have lasted two to three days at best. While it would be able to lick the snow for water, it must have buried down far enough to find grass to nibble on," Agriculture expert Ken Fletcher explained to the Daily Mail. "I have been in this business a long time and this has to be one of the most remarkable survival stories."

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When Mactier posted a photo of the ewe's recovery from the snow on Facebook, the image quickly went viral. More than 16,000 people have "liked" the sheep's story so far.