A wild and ailing sheep found in a forest in Australia has yielded a fleece weighing more than 35 kilograms after being shorn for the first time in many a year.
Named Baarack by his rescuers, Reuters reported that he weighed nearly half the weight of an adult kangaroo.
In other words, Baarack weighed as much as an average bag of concrete from your local hardware store.
Or, if you’re not the handy(wo)man type, it would be like carrying 75 T-shirts all at once.
How often do sheep have to be sheared?
The sheep was found by a member of the public who contacted the Edgar’s Mission farm sanctuary near Lancefield in Victoria. This is about 60 kilometres north of Melbourne, according to the Mission’s Kyle Behrend.
After tracking down the staggering animal, his saviours were amazed at the massive amount of wool grown around him over a number of years.
“It would appear Baarack was once an owned sheep,” said Behrend.
“He had at one time been ear-tagged. However, these appear to have been torn out by the thick matted fleece around his face. Sheep need to be shorn at least annually otherwise the fleece continues to grow and grow, as happened here.”
Baarack’s hooves were in great condition from running over the rocks in the forest.
However, he was not in the best shape. Behrend said he was underweight. Moreover, due to all of the wool around his face he could also barely see.
Guess who made some new friends?
Baarack is now settling in with other rescued sheep at Edgar’s Mission. Behrend said, “(It) all goes to show what incredibly resilient and brave animals sheep really are. We could not love them any more if we tried.”
The sanctuary found grit and debris “pooling in the gap” between Baarack’s cornea and the lid. More importantly, a grass seed stuck in there had caused an ulcer.
Don’t be too worried, though. Firstly, the sheep appears to be settling in well at his new home. And secondly, in an update TikTok shared, Baarack snacking with his new sheep friends and being inquisitive about the camera recording him.
The caption read, “Baarack is getting more confident everyday!”
