Wild sheep sheds 35kg fleece after first haircut in years

Gulf Today Report

For anyone who has endured months of lockdown without a haircut, spare a thought for Baarack the sheep.

His fleece had become so overgrown and matted that he could barely see when he was rescued by an animal charity in Australia.

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Baarack, whose thick coat weighed more than 35kg, was living wild in the state of Victoria.

"I couldn't believe there was actually a sheep alive under all of that wool," Pam Ahern, founder of Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary, told Nine News.

 "Baarack", a wild sheep after he was sheared at Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary in Lancefield.

The sheep's matted coat had been growing uncut for close to five years, Ahern estimated.

"I think he has been a cheeky little rascal of a young lamb who's just wandered off and never came back."

Unshorn sheep struggle to walk under the immense weight of their wool, and without a haircut at least once a year most will not last long in the wild, particularly in Australia's often harsh and dry summers.

Despite Baarack's hefty locks, he falls short of the world record held by a late compatriot, Chris, who made headlines when he was shorn of a 41-kilogram mane in 2015, according to AFP.

Baarack's transformation from hulking mass to fresh face has nevertheless given him a new fleece of life, with his overhaul racking up millions of views on TikTok.