Oldest sheep in the world dies after falling off cliff

A female sheep thought to be the oldest in the world has died after falling off a cliff.

Methuselina, the elderly ewe, died aged 25 years and 11 months on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles.

Her owner, John Maciver, put her long life down to her still having most of her teeth meaning she could eat grass easily.

The normal life span of a sheep is around 10-12 years

Lambs at risk from deadly Schmallenberg virus

A virus that is a serious threat to sheep and other farm animals has hit 74 farms in England.

The Schmallenberg virus mainly affects sheep. If a pregnant sheep catches the disease, it can have a serious effect on a lamb's development before it is born.

This means it could die or be born severely deformed.

The virus could have been spread here by midges, mosquitoes and ticks from Europe which bite and infect sheep.

At the moment, the affected farms are in the south but farmers are worried the disease will spread north. They're calling on scientists to develop a vaccine but that could take up to two years.

Although cows and goats can be affected by the Schmallenberg virus, it's not thought it's a risk to humans.

During spring, around 16 million lambs will be born in the UK.

Badger Trust launch legal challenge to badger cull

The Badger Trust has launched a new legal challenge to the government's plans to cull badgers in England.

The plans to kill large numbers of badgers have been put in place because it's thought they give tuberculosis (TB) to cows.

It's a disease that affects the lungs and can be deadly.

The Badger Trust believes that a cull will not stop the disease from being spread and could in fact make it worse.

In December, the government announced its plans for a cull in pilot areas in England, to try to bring the disease under control.

At the same time, wildlife groups also began vaccination programmes, hoping this will remove any need for culling but the government says the vaccine is not good enough to solve the problem.

Horse saved in dramatic quicksand rescue

A horse minutes away from drowning in quicksand has been saved in a dramatic rescue.

Nicole Graham and her daughter, Paris, were riding along a beach in Melbourne, Australia when their horses got stuck in the muddy sands.

The woman managed to dig her daughter's horse free but her horse, Astro, was stuck.

Nicole stayed by Astro's side for three hours until rescuers pulled him from the sands with ropes and a big tractor.

She said: "It was heartbreaking to see my horse struggling. He is so well trained, he knew I would get him out so he didn't fight."

Afterwards Astro was treated to bread and jam and a massage to help him recover.

T. rex had the most powerful bite

Tyrannosaurus rex had the most powerful bite of any creature that ever walked the Earth, according to scientists.

Experts from the University of Liverpool have used a life size T. rex skull to help them digitally recreate the dinosaur's powerful jaws in 3D.

With its razor sharp teeth and huge mouth, the Tyrannosaurus really was the ultimate prehistoric predator.

The team said that if you were bitten, it would be like having the weight of a medium sized elephant sitting on you.

Ever wondered why zebras have black-and-white stripes? Well, a group of scientists think they developed them to keep away blood-sucking flies.

Researchers put out different coloured models of horses in a field - one brown, one black, one white, and one with black-and-white stripes.

The model with black-and-white stripes attracted the least number of flies.

The team thinks the stripey pattern is a turn-off for flies, because of how it reflects light.