'Tough' bison left with scar after lightning strike

A "tough" bison survived a lightning strike and was left with a scar on his shoulder hump.

Sparky the bull was struck at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa two years ago and survived despite the odds against him.

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The U.S. Department of the Interior said that wildlife Biologist Karen Viste-Sparkman noticed Sparky standing by himself in July 2013.

On closer inspection, she saw that he had been struck by lightning and burned over a large area of his body.

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It added: "Sparky was thin after the strike and wasn't expected to live long. Since a lightning strike is something that could happen to wild bison anywhere, the refuge let nature take its course. But two years later, Sparky is going strong!"

Sparky joined the refuge in 2006 after being transferred from the National Bison Range in Montana.

At 11 years old, he is thinner than the rest of the bison but still stands strong.

Last year, a passerby spotted an unusual sight when he came across an unfortunate cow in the New Forest - with its head trapped in a bicycle.

A photograph of the cow was taken by local Johnny Weiler, who posted the image to his Twitter page, and also reassured users that it all turned out ok in the end.

He wrote: "Not an everyday sight :))) New Forest Cow. It ended well for her."