What happens when a sheep grows so much hair (wool) that they get totally covered under it?
Well, read on to find out more about Chris- the wooly male sheep (Male sheep are also called RAM)
A barely visible ram was discovered with at least 7 years worth of fleece growth! Nicknamed “Chris”, he could barely walk under this growth of beautiful merino wool!
For the health of the ram, Chris need to be relieved of his fleece. This is because he could be developing some serious infections under the wool! It could also impede him from going to the bathroom!
The "haircutting" of sheep is called shearing
However, this shearing needs to be carried out very delicately. This is because Chris had not be sheared for a long time and could go into shock and even death! He was then mildly sedated to ensure that he remains calm throughout. An expert shearer, Ian Elkins with 35 years of experience was employed for the task.
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)
It took the shearer and his team 42 minutes to shear off 40.45kg of wool! This amount can make approximately 30 sweaters! An average sheep only requires 3 minutes of shearing! Throughout the ordeal, Chris seemed to understand what was going on. He remained calm and relaxed which helps the shearing to go on smoothly.
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)
With half of his weight gone, Chris is now recuperating under the watchful eyes of the veterinarians. His wool, however has no commercial value as it was not of high quality. This amount of wool will most likely set a new world record! Currently it was held by a New Zealand sheep called “Big Ben” with 28.9kg of largest single fleece sheared.
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)
How did Chris grow so much wool? It was speculated that Chris probably drifted away from his herd 7 years ago and had been roaming in the wild since. In another incident, “Shrek” the sheep was rescued from a cave where he spent 6 years and had 27 kg worth of fleece growth! Shrek passed away in Year 2011 at a ripe old age of 16 after living a pampered life on a New Zealand farm.
