Sheep sheds heavy burden
A sheep named Baarack received a much-needed shearing after rescuers in Australia found the abandoned animal with more than 75 pounds of wool weighing it down.
Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary, an animal rescue and sanctuary on a farm in Lancefield, north of Melbourne, rescued the sheep earlier this month and shared video of his transformation on TikTok that has more than 18.5 million views.
It was “a property maintenance man who spotted Baarack in the forest that adjoined the boundary of a property he was working on. This chap then contacted us to see if we could assist Baarack,” said Kelly Dinham, who works on community engagement and advocacy at the sanctuary.
Kyle Behrend, also with the sanctuary, told Reuters that it appeared that the animal was once owned, having an ear-tag that appeared to have been torn out by the thick matted fleece near his face.
Sheep need at least yearly shearing to keep their coats light enough for the animals, otherwise it will continue to grow, Dinham said.
“This is a result of domestication as the ancestor of modern sheep, the wild mouflon was a self-shedding animal whose coat/fur grew and shed in accordance with the seasons,” she said.
After rescuing Baarack, sanctuary staff gave him the long-overdue shearing and found the fleece clocked in at 35.4 kilograms, or about 78 pounds.
Despite his heavy fleece, Baarack was actually underweight after being sheared, Dinham said.
The wool around his face impaired his vision, too. Dinham said they found grit and debris “pooling in the gap between his cornea and the lid.” And a grass seed stuck in there had caused an ulcer.
One positive was that Baarack’s hooves were in good conditions having been in the forest with rocks to run over for some time, Dinham said.
It wasn’t clear for how long Baarack had gone without a shearing. If a sheep goes for an extended period of time without adequate care, the overgrown wool can lead to build up of manure and urine that then could lead to infection, according to a North Dakota State University fact sheet on sheep shearing. A healthy wool also helps the animal better control its body temperature.
While Baarack’s fleece was impressive in size, it’s still several pounds off from the world record of 41.1 kilograms, which is just over 90 pounds.
That record is held by Chris, a Merino rescued in 2015 also in Australia. Chris died in 2019 at Little Oak Sanctuary, which cared for the animal after shearing his massive coat.
As for Baarack, the sheep appears to be settling in well at his new home. In an update TikTok shared last week, the sanctuary showed Baarack snacking with his new sheep friends and being inquisitive about the camera recording him. “Baarack is getting more confident every day!” the caption read.