A new sheep! Absurdly fluffy sheep who was so crushed by his 40kg fleece he couldn’t STAND gets a life-saving makeover
- The sheep Alex had been found lying under the weight of his thick coat
- The sheep could not stand under their heavy wool, which took an hour to remove
- Alex is now adjusting to his new life at Egdar’s Mission in Lancefield, Australia
An absurdly fluffy sheep who couldn’t stand because it was weighed down by its 40kg coat has a ‘new fleece in life’ when it is finally shorn by rescuers.
Bushwalkers recently encountered the fighting sheep on the summit of Mt Alexander in central Victoria and immediately contacted an animal shelter for help.
The sheep named Alex had been unable to stand for some time and was in critical condition.
Pam Ahern, founder and director of Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary, said Alex was found just in time.
“I’m not sure how long the poor fellow lay there,” she said.
“But I do know that, judging by the length of his coat, he hadn’t been clipped in many years, and if he hadn’t been found when he was, he would have passed from this world.”
Rescuers ran to free Alex from his overgrown coat.
Volunteers had to hand-feed the sheep and give it water as its matted wool prevented it from raising its head.
It took the strength of four adults to carry the motionless sheep out of his ambulance.
Bushwalkers found Alex the sheep lying down and unable to stand due to the weight of his matted fleece
It took four adult volunteers to transport the sheep from the wild to Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary where it would be sheared
Mrs. Ahern had to call in an experienced clipper as the sheep’s wool was so matted she couldn’t even part it to splash liquids on it.
It took volunteers an hour to remove Alex’s thick, tangled coat – a process that normally takes only a few minutes.
A 40 kilogram (88 lb) pile of urine-soaked, twig-matt and insect-encrusted fleece was removed from the weak animal.
When he was done, Alex was finally able to stand on his shaky legs. He is now recovering at the 153 hectare sanctuary in Lancefield, Australia.
Volunteers had to restrain his wool and hand-feed him as his matted coat prevented him from raising his head
A nearly record-breaking 40kg pile of wool was removed by Alex, taking volunteers an hour to remove – a process that normally takes only minutes
The extraordinary mass came close to breaking the Guinness World Record for heaviest fleece – a title held by Canberra’s Chris the Sheep, who had a 41-kilogram fur in 2015.
Alex isn’t the first sheep the Edgar mission has seen carrying the weight of wool on his shoulders.
The shelter rescued the Baarack sheep in February last year after it was found in the mountains with a fleece weighing 34.5 kilograms.
Both Alex and Baarack were both wethers (castrated male sheep) around the age of seven and would normally self-shed.
However, due to selective breeding, some sheep species no longer shed their skin themselves and need to be sheared at least once a year.
Alex is now recovering at the 153 acre non-profit sanctuary in Lancefield, Australia
The nonprofit sanctuary shared a video of his lifesaving transformation on TikTok, which has garnered more than 150,000 views.
Viewers were quick to praise the shelter’s efforts and expressed their love for Alex the Sheep.
‘Her [Edgar’s Mission] were born with a place in heaven,” wrote one user.
“I don’t mean to be dramatic but I would die for Alex,” commented another.
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