Farmers Peter and Netty Hazell immediately nicknamed the sheep Shaun, after the character from Wallace and Gromit. They found the very, very woolly sheep wandering in the scrubland on Sunday.
The six-year-old Merino sheep’s coat has never been fleeced, reports the Independent, and based on Shaun’s tag, he came from a farm some 25 miles away, on Tasmania’s east coast. He appears to have spent six years wandering the land before his discovery. The Hazells are amazed Shaun lasted that long in the wild on his own.
Netty told Australia’s ABC News that Shaun has about 20 kg worth of wool. The wool is half a metre thick.
“It is the heaviest sheep I’ve ever lifted,” she said.
It didn’t take long for Peter to capture Shaun, as the loads of extra wool weighed him down and covered his eyes. All Peter had to do was sneak up behind him and grab him.
The Hazells will take Shaun for his first clipping this week.
“There’s three or four good jumpers in there,” Netty said.
They’re also going to find out if Shaun has broken the world record for fleece yield. The current title belongs to a sheep named Shrek, who in 2004 produced 27 kg of wool. Shrek died in June 2011 after gaining worldwide fame and even meeting the British Prime Minister.
