Saturday 3 March 2012

'Oldest sheep' in the world dies on Lewis in Western Isles

A ewe thought to have been a contender for the title of world's oldest sheep has died after falling off a cliff.
An ear tag on the blackface ewe, nicknamed Methuselina, showed that it was 25 years and 11 months old.
In 2009, her owner John Maciver, of North Tolsta, Lewis, put her longevity down to her still having most of her teeth, allowing her to graze easily.
That same year the recognised holder of the world's oldest sheep title died at the age of 23.
Called Lucky, she died in a heatwave in Australia.
Mr Maciver said Methuselina had also met an unfortunate end.
He said: "The sad news is Methuselina is no more.
"She passed away and I wouldn't say peacefully. I found her at the bottom of a rock.
"She had gone over a cliff and met her demise that way at the grand old age of 25 years and 11 months."
Lucky raised by Delrae Westgarth set the Guinness record in 2007 and was a celebrity in her home town of Lake Bolac, near Melbourne.
The Polwarth-Dorchester cross was hand-reared from birth after being abandoned by her mother. She went on to have 35 offspring of her own.

No comments:

Post a Comment

You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!

Related Posts with Thumbnails

ShareThis