Cuter by calf: Meet five year old Tara, Scotland's youngest 'stock woman'

Tara Adams and her adopted Highland cow calf Solas (Andrew Cawley / DC Thomson)

UDDERLY adorable five-year-old Tara Adams has raised an abandoned calf on her own.

The ginger cutey, called Solas, was rejected after his mum struggled to feed both her twins.

Tara feeds Solas (Andrew Cawley / DC Thomson)

Caring Tara stepped in as a surrogate mum, bottle-feeding the calf for months to make sure he got the perfect start to life.

And she’s done such an amazing job that the pair have become the talk of country shows around Scotland this summer.

Perth Show secretary Neil Forbes said: “Handling a little bull at five is exceptional.

“There cannot be many youngsters that able and confident.”

While other little girls love nothing more than playing with their Barbie dolls, Tara thinks nothing of getting up way before she starts school to squelch through the mud on the family farm near

Strachan in Aberdeenshire to check on Solas, who follows her around everywhere like a faithful puppy.

The pair made their first appearance at Perth Show earlier this month, taking fifth place in the first-time handler category won by Tara’s nine-year-old sister, Sophie.

Even when her Highland calf charge decided it might prefer an afternoon nap than a stroll to the ring, Tara was unfazed.

Dad Ian, 39, has been thrilled by his daughter’s affinity with the calf.

He said: “She’s a natural with the animals on the farm … they are putty in her hands.”

Now three months old, sturdy Solas, complete with his trademark mop of strawberry hair, has continued to blossom under Tara’s care.

Ian added: “Tara has been interested in farming since around the age of three. She is taking the lead from Sophie.

“Tara’s always asking questions about what the cattle eat and is keen to wash and groom them.”

Farming isn’t Tara’s only career ambition, though. The youngster told The Sunday Post: “When I grow up I want to be a farmer during the day and a hairdresser at night.”

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