FYI, this is what a sheep looks like if it doesn’t get a haircut in five years
Chris is just a simple merino sheep who has gone without being sheared for five years. However, his no-shave streak ended Thursday — when Chris was shorn of a whopping 93 pounds of wool.
Four to five times larger than his kin, Chris was discovered roaming in Canberra, Australia. The RSPCA, an Australian animal welfare group, became concerned for Chris’ physical and mental health (he has been in seclusion most of his life) and reached out on Twitter for a good samaritan to help get the weight off his shoulders. Literally.
“It’s definitely one of the biggest sheep we’ve ever seen,” head of the RSPCA, Ven Dange told the AFP.
Though wild sheep’s wool will stop growing after a certain point, Chris, being domesticated, was able to grow out an impressive 30 sweaters worth of fleece. Due to the size of the wooly mass, the only person who was up to this task was four-time Australian Shearing Championship winner Ian Elkins.
Since Chris’ shape-up, Dange also announced that he will be given a home following a doctor’s go-ahead.
While Chris and his overwhelming wool coat have gained international attention, he isn’t the first sheep to take on a minimalistic lifestyle. An equally evasive New Zealand sheep named Shrek was able to avoid grooming for six years by hiding in a cave. Shrek was so good at hide and seek that by the time he was buzzed clean in 2004 he accumulated 60 pounds of fleece.
Up until recently, the grandfather of overgrown wool was known to everyone as Big Ben. The New Zealand merino was entered into the Guinness World Records for collecting 63 pounds, 11 ounces worth of wool when shaved in January. Whoa.
(Images via iStock, Twitter)