World’s oldest sheep dies at 25 after falling from 150 foot cliff in Western Isles

World’s oldest sheep dies at 25 after falling from 150 foot cliff in Western Isles

Mangalore Today News Network

A sheep thought to be the world’s oldest has died after falling over a 150ft cliff.

The blackface ewe – nicknamed Twiggy because of her scrawny appearance – was just a month short of her 26th birthday.

Crofter John Maciver put her longevity down to her still having most of her teeth, allowing her to graze easily, and her ‘independent spirit’.

Most sheep do not live longer than 12 years. The ewe was found dead on rocks at a beach on Lewis in the Western Isles.

The ewe - originally called Twiggy because of her ’scrawny appearance’ - was found dead on rocks at Garry Beach on Friday.

The sheep was older than two of Mr Maciver’s grown-up children - aged 23 and 24 - and just a year younger than his eldest son who is 27.

‘It is a sad end,’ said Mr Maciver, 51. ’She was never a big sheep but she produced her last lambs three years ago and even then they were twins!

’She did produce a lot of lambs over the years. I tried to sell her twice - but she was refused by the auctioneer because she was so scrawny and on another occasion she jumped out of the trailer taking her to market.

’I will miss her - I kept her in the end for sentimental reasons. She still had a good set of teeth. If she had not gone over the cliff I’m sure she would have gone on and on. There were a good few years left in her yet.’

Father-of-four Mr Maciver said he so loved his ewe it was even his computer screen saver.

Grieving for his sheep: Crofter John Maciver and a screensaver of his 25-year-old sheep. They normally only live until they are 12

’She is still on the screen to remind me of her,’ said Mr Maciver.

’She passed away and I wouldn’t say peacefully. I found her at the bottom of a rock. It must have been quite a blow, sadly.’

The last recognised holder of the world’s oldest sheep title, Lucky, died in Australia in 2009, aged 23.

The Polwarth-Dorchester cross raised by Delrae Westgarth set the Guinness record in 2007 and was a celebrity in her home town of Lake Bolac, near Melbourne.

Guinness World Records said that since Lucky’s death it had been actively looking for a contender for world’s oldest living sheep.

It was understood that Mr Maciver had not applied for the recognition for his ewe.
The oldest age recorded for a sheep so far was 28 years and 51 weeks.

The crossbred sheep was kept at Taliesin, near Aberystwyth in Wales.

The sheep gave birth to a healthy lamb in 1988 at the age of 28, after lambing successfully more than 40 times. She died in January 1989.