New Zealand’s most famous sheep, a merino named Shrek that became a celebrity when he was found in 2004 after six years on the loose, has died at a South Island farm, his owner said yesterday.
Shrek went missing from his herd in 1998 and was assumed dead until he was found in a mountain cave six years later, sporting a massive fleece that made him appear three times his normal size. The public in New Zealand, where sheep outnumber the 4.3million human population almost 10 to one, took the rambling ruminant to their hearts.
Television stations carried live broadcasts when a shearer clipped his oversize fleece, which weighed in at almost 27 kilograms, around six times the wool normally gathered from the average merino.
Reports said a memorial service would be held for Shrek this week at the church of the Good Shepherd in Tekapo. (AFP)
Dog logs on
A judge’s dog, which has been seized by police after three alleged attacks, now has its own Facebook page.
A photo of Judge Beatrice Bolton’s pet Georgina appears on the social networking site with the message: “I am a very beautiful German Shepherd dog looking for friends both GSDs and humans.”
Northumbria Police took Georgina and another dog into custody “to assure public protection” following a third allegation of an attack within a year near the judge’s home outside Rothbury, Northumberland. In December, she stormed out of Carlisle Magistrates’ Court after she was convicted of failing to control her dog after it attacked her neighbour’s sunbathing son. (PA)
Lost property
A record amount of lost property, ranging from books and bags to suitcases, crutches and even an invitation to the royal wedding, has been left on public transport and taxis in London in the past year.
More than 207,000 items were handed into Transport for London’s lost property office after being found on buses, tubes, trains, taxis or stations.
Goods left behind included sports gear, folders of school work, toys, power tools, pushchairs, suitcases, walking sticks and even crutches. Around a third of the items were eventually reunited with the owner. (PA)
Police apology
Police have apologised to a carpenter for arresting him after he left blood behind when he mended a door broken by a burglar.
Jason Gaspard, 40, cut himself on a shard of glass after being asked by the property owner to fix a door to make it secure following a break-in.
But police later arrested the tradesman, who runs Gaspard & Son in Hove, East Sussex, on suspicion of burglary and held him for more than an hour in custody before realising their mistake and releasing him without charge.
Mr Gaspard may seek legal advice over the actions of Sussex Police. (PA)
Private pictures
A US congressman long ridiculed for sharing the same name as a slang word for penis has tearfully admitted to sending pictures of his privates to young female fans online.
Anthony Weiner – whose surname is pronounced the same as sausages used in hotdogs that are synonymous with the male sexual organ – called a nationally televised press conference to admit he had been in a string of lewd online relationships.
Pressure had been building on the Democrat from New York after a close-up picture of an aroused male member in underpants reached a woman in Seattle via his Twitter account. For a week he hotly denied sending the picture and claimed to have been hacked.
Wiping away tears on Monday, Mr Weiner admitted: “The picture was of me and I sent it. I am deeply sorry for the pain this has caused.” (AFP)
Barely started
An Irishman rowing naked across the Indian Ocean has been rescued off Australia after he hit his head in rough seas.
Keith Whelan stopped the bleeding himself after a swell threw him. He called a member of his team in Britain who notified Australian authorities. A cargo ship eventually picked him up.
Police in Perth said the injury was minor and Mr Whelan was being taken to Bunbury on Australia’s western coast – 370 miles south of Geraldton, where he set off last month. (PA)
One-way trip
Four Russians who went to Turkey to learn how to be tour guides have died after drinking bootleg alcohol.
Police said the drink contained methyl alcohol, often used to illegally produce cheap spirits to avoid government controls and high taxes.
In 2009, illegal drink killed 11 people, including three German students who had travelled to Turkey on a class trip. (PA)
Comic turn
A Japanese university is launching the country’s first doctoral programme in studies of manga comic books.
Kyoto Seika University says it has received overseas requests for an advanced centre for manga research, and that the industry is in transition amid globalisation and the growth of digital media. (PA)