A Western Australian sheep that was unshorn for seven years has been captured and de-fleeced, with his wool weighing in at a whopping 22.2 kilograms.
The sheep, dubbed "Big Sheep" by local shearers wandered off into a tagasaste plantation [saltbush trees] as a lamb around 2015 and, while it had been spotted on several occasions, it wasn't until last month that he was coerced into a horse float and transported to a shearing shed.
Neridup farmer David Cox said considering the merino hadn't been handled for more than half a decade, the sheep was surprisingly placid to shear.
"They dragged him out onto the board, he was just like a big turtle, lying on his back with his feet in the air and [the shearers] took a big, deep breath and got into him," he said.
"He was a lot quicker running out of the shed than running into the shed, put it that way.
Big fleece
According to April 2022 forecasting figures from Australian Wool Innovation, the average weight of a fleece cut in Australia is 4.54kg.
Mr Cox expected his woolly wether to cut much more than that, and was surprised when the official figure came back at just 22.2kg.
Mr Cox was pleased the fleece topped a recent New Zealand icon "Shrekapo", shorn at Easter with just over 18kg of wool, but Big Sheep's fleece falls well short of the Guinness world record, set by Canberran ovine "Chris" who cut 41.1kg of wool back in 2015.
The reason Mr Cox's sheep cut much less could be down to decreased crimp, according to wool broker Andrew Beaton.
"The wool is quite spongy, not the dense-type wool that you would get today," he said.
"So his bloodline: he's a 2014-drop wether. It just wouldn't have the density that the sheep in Canberra would have had."
He said that stretched out the staple length of Big Sheep's fleece was close to 40 centimetres.
Once-in-a-lifetime sight
Mr Beaton had worked in sheds for decades before he became a wool broker, so when Mr Cox told him Big Sheep had been caught and was finally going to see a handpiece, he knew it was a sight he didn't want to miss.
"I have a sample of wool from station country that is probably a little bit longer but I never saw that whole fleece, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience seeing that sheep get shorn, that's for sure.
"It's really bulky. I went to pick it up in the shearing shed and it sits in a butt [of a wool pack] about three-foot high and you think its half a butt of wool but there's just one fleece."
Mr Cox said this was indeed an unusual sight as farmers attempt to shear their merino sheep at least once a year and if one gets away, it usually only misses a single shearing.
"I think most people pride themselves in getting all of their sheep into the shed every year, not missing too many," he said.
"So hopefully it's a one-off and doesn't happen too much."
Big Sheep living his best life
Big Sheep certainly had the body structure to carry the massive fleece, weighing in at over 100kg, making the job of shearing quite daunting for the team of shearers.
"They were all drawing straws as to who was going to shear him, and it took a couple of them to hold him and pull his wool away," Mr Cox said.
With his fleece gone, Mr Cox said he was pleased to see the wether was in such good body condition. Big Sheep happily re-joined the mob after his ordeal.
"He's headed back out into the paddock with a group of lambs and he's in a feedlot now, so he's alive and happy and trotting around," he said.
As for what happens to the massive fleece, it may soon grace the bodies of locals, but not in the form of fine micron suits more likely as beanies or scarves.
"There are some ladies who do some spinning and like that longer wool so we'll just give it away to someone who wants it and can make use of it," Mr Cox said.
Mr Beaton said first, he hopes the fleece can be displayed given many people wouldn't have seen a fleece of this size before.
