Alex the sheep gets new fleece on life after losing 40kg in close shave

Alex the sheep found with 40 kilogram fleece

It is not unusual for Pam Ahern to receive phone calls at all hours about distressed or injured farmed animals, but this call was a little different. 

A wildlife carer phoned Ms Ahern, the owner of central Victoria animal sanctuary Edgar's Mission, about a lost sheep discovered on a mountain nearby.

And he wasn't in a good state.

"He had 40 kilos of wool on him when he came to us," Ms Ahern said.

"He had urine, sticks, twigs and bugs all over him — it was heartbreaking.

"The wildlife carer was lamenting on the phone about whether it would be kinder to let him go but she wanted to give him a chance."

Alex the sheep was found on Mount Alexander in Central Victoria by a bushwalker.  (Supplied: Edgar's Mission)

When Ms Ahern arrived at the scene, she saw him lying down on the ground unable to even lift his head.

"I couldn't even part his wool to inject fluids into him but on the way back he shot his head up and looked at me and I thought, 'You're going to make it buddy'."

Called in a shearer

Ms Ahern said the sheep's fleece was so matted, she was unable to even make a start taking off any of his wool, so she called in an expert.

"Holly came out at midnight and worked on him for about an hour," she said.

Kilmore shearer Holly Kendall was called in at midnight to help save Alex's life. (Supplied: Holly Kendall)

Holly Kendall, a local shearer in Kilmore, said the sheep was exhausted when she arrived.

"On these over-fleeced sheep it's hard to know where to start, and it took some time to get the matts of fleece off him," she said.

"I have no doubt that if Edgar's Mission didn't get to him when they did, he wouldn't have made it much longer."

Alex is not the first sheep to feel the weight of the wool on his shoulders.

In 2015, Chris the sheep, from Canberra, made headlines for his world-record-winning 41-kilogram fleece.

Alex the sheep is happy and has returned to full health. (Supplied: Edgar's Mission)

Sheep likely escaped from farm

Ms Ahern said Alex had likely escaped from a farm when he was young, and with the amount of wool on his back he may not have been shorn for at least six years — if ever.

Alex, named after the mountain he was found on, Mount Alexander, has since made a full recovery and is now a full-time member at the sanctuary.

"Luckily he did find one thing that was going to save him, and that was human kindness," she said.

"He'll now stay with us, and he's already formed a strong bond with Chloe and Molly Brown, our two other sheep."

Pam Ahern says Alex the sheep is eating and making new friends at Edgar's Mission in Lancefield. (ABC Rural: Eden Hynninen)