Baarack no longer wild and woolly

MELBOURNE: An ailing sheep found in a forest in Australia, named Baarack by rescuers, has yielded a fleece weighing more than 35kg after being shorn for the first time in many a year.

The sheep was found by a member of the public, who contacted the Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary about 60km north of Melbourne, sanctuary spokesman Kyle Behrend said.

‘‘It would appear Baarack was once an owned sheep,’’ Behrend said.

Barrack had at one time been eartagged, but the tags appeared to have been torn out. After his muchneeded shearing, Baarack’s shorn fleece weighed in at 35.4kg.

‘‘While his hooves were in great condition from running over the rocks in the forest, 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,’’ Behrend said.

Baarack was now settling in with other rescued sheep at the sanctuary. — Reuters