One by one: The lone wolves of the animal kingdom

In 2023 Fiona, Britain’s loneliest sheep, was rescued from below cliffs in Cromarty in the Highlands of Scotland after spending two years on her own. She has since found socialising with other ewes difficult. Sheep, of course, are naturally flocking animals, but a surprising number of British species live their lives almost entirely alone. The famously co-operative honeybee is, in fact, an exception among its kind. The vast majority of bees — as many as 250 out of the 270 UK species — are solitary, including the delightfully named ashy mining bee (Andrena cineraria), the wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) and the hairy-footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes). Solitary bees nest in the ground or in ready-made spaces, such as beetle holes, and their species are the ones most likely to use