Captain Scott Lang said a local landholder notified FRNSW of a sheep that had become caught in the fork of tree… in a river.

“It’s not uncommon to do animal rescue: it’s part of our core business,” Captain Lang said.

“It’s common for us to do ... a cat in a tree, [or] rescues in dams.

“We’ve never done a sheep in a river, in a tree…. [It] is one of our more unusual incidents.”

Firefighters were alerted to the incident by the landowner at 1pm, on Monday January 7.

FRNSW then implemented the services of the SES.

Crews utilised the flood rescue boat to access the sheep, which was about 10 metres from the river bank, said Captain Lang.

The landowner believed that a dog had chased the sheep into the waterway, after it was chased around the paddock, he said.

It ran into the water before it had become stuck in the fork of the tree.

“It was actually very lucky,” Captain Lang added.

“It was fully submerged with the exception of its head.”

The sheep was rescued and brought to land and is in a pretty healthy condition, although it had a degree of fatigue, Captain Lang said.

The animal had been discovered in the Yass River, near the boat ramp.

“It’s been a relatively quiet start of the holiday season. This has kicked off the year in a most unusual way,” Captain Lang added.