Escaped Overgrown Sheep Sheds Wool Weighing 35 Kilograms

• Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary took Baarack in to have his wool shorn. According to the sanctuary, the sheep appeared to be owned before since he was ear-tagged.
• After removing the wool, the sanctuary worked on removing the long and pointy grass seed that became wedged between Baraack’s cornea and eyelid, which caused an ulcer.
• Baraack’s fleece would be able to make around 61.3 wool sweaters, or 490 pairs of men’s business socks.

A property maintenance man doing work near the forest in Australia saw a sheep wandering around the area, its body almost totally covered by the massive wool around it. The merino ram was promptly rescued and removed the wool weighing it down, which was measured at an astounding 35 kilograms.

Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary took Baarack in to have his wool shorn. According to the sanctuary, the sheep appeared to be owned before since he was ear-tagged.

The sheep was found near Lancefield in Victoria and has somehow managed to survive by eating small shoots of grass.

They noted Baarack’s condition when they found him. Kyle Behrend, who works for the sanctuary, said that Baarack “had at one time been ear-tagged, however these appear to have been torn out by the thick, matted fleece around his face. He was in a bit of a bad way. He was underweight and, due to all of the wool around his face, he could barely see.”

Sheep has to be sheared at least once a year to unburden them of the extra weight and prevent possible infections.

After removing the wool, the sanctuary worked on removing the long and pointy grass seed that became wedged between Baarack’s cornea and eyelid, which caused an ulcer. They also spent hours plucking off dozens of seeds that became lodged in his flesh.

Now Baarack is bouncing back and getting more confident each day, thanks to the sanctuary.

“That Baarack, despite being a prey animal, and having had so little contact with our kind, will now turn and face towards us, curiously walking forward to touch our outstretched hand, leaves us in little doubt that he associates the kindnesses we have afforded him with something worth associating with,” a post on the sanctuary’s Facebook page reads.

Baarack’s fleece would be able to make around 61.3 wool sweaters, or 490 pairs of men’s business socks.

Baraack’s story is similar to Shrek, the famous sheep in New Zealand. He spent six years evading capture and when he was finally taken in, he packed on wool that weighed 27 kilograms. His shearing was a public event and he even met the then New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark.