After life on the lam, runaway Australian sheep is shorn of massive 42kg fleece

An overgrown sheep found lost in Australian scrubland was shorn for perhaps the first time yesterday, yielding 42 kilograms of wool, the shearer said.

The runaway’s woolly coat dwarfs that of New Zealand’s hermit ram dubbed Shrek who took six years to grow his massive fleece that weighed 27 kilograms when it was clipped in 2004. Shrek was often described as a record.

Champion shearer Ian Elkins said the bulky Australian merino sheep, dubbed Chris, appeared to be in good condition after being separated from his huge fleece under anaesthetic.

“We’ve smashed Shrek’s record of 27 kilos, no dramas,” Elkins told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“I don’t reckon he’s been shorn before and I reckon he’d be five or six years old,” he said.