Lamb Stormzy born at height of Storm Isha is 'a fighter'

A lamb born as Storm Isha raged has been named Stormzy by keepers at a Lincolnshire wildlife park.

Jamie and Michelle Mintram, who run ARK Wildlife & Dinosaur Park at Stickney, said staff found the rare Soay lamb cold, alone and close to death in a field.

The couple decided to name the stoic creature after the UK rapper - and as a nod to Sunday's Storm Isha.

Mr Mintram said: "He is a little fighter."

According to Mr Mintram's research, there are only about 900 breeding female Soay left.

Primarily a sanctuary for crocodiles, wildcats and racoons, the park took in Stormzy's mother a few months ago when the field she grazed in flooded.

Mr Mintram admitted the new arrival, which is now being cared for in their home, took everyone by surprise.

He said: "Storm Isha had hit the previous night so the keepers were doing early morning checks, making sure everyone was OK.

"One of the keepers saw this little bundle in the middle of the field. At first, she thought it was a rabbit. When she got closer, she realised it was a baby lamb."

Mr Mintram, who was told of the arrival via a radio message, said he asked the keeper for confirmation.

He said: "I was like, 'are you sure?' She [the mother] is so fluffy you wouldn't be able to tell she was pregnant. We also didn't know that she had been with male sheep in her previous home."

Mr Mintram said Stormzy had been out in the open all night.

"The poor little guy was born at the height of Isha," he said.

Unfortunately, the high winds are thought to have spooked Stormzy's mother, causing her to abandon him.

Mr Mintram said: "When we found him, he was rather a poorly little thing."

Keepers considered his chances of survival were poor.

"He wasn't moving," explained Mr Mintram. "He felt cold. We thought the inevitable was going to happen."

Desperate to increase his survival chances, staff tried to encourage Stormzy's mother to accept him, but Mr Mintram said she was "not interested". Stormzy also failed to engage with his mother, forcing the team to intervene.

Mr Mintram said his wife had spent the past few days bottle-feeding formula milk to Stormzy every two hours.

"We managed to get food into him," he said. "It was only a few grams to start with but as each feed went on he seemed to get more and more strength."

Mr Mintram said he was now considering introducing a "companion lamb" for Stormzy, explaining it would be a while before he can mix with mature sheep "because they might bully him".

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