Woolly sheep found wandering Victorian bushland has 77 pounds of matted fleece shaved away

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A woolly sheep was found wandering in the rugged Victorian bushland of Melbourne, Australia by a Good Samaritan who contacted Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary for help. The wild mouflon had been living on his own for years, but clearly needed a haircut and some kind, human care.

The sheep once had an owner; the remains of an ear-tag appears to have been pulled off by the thick fleece around his face and neck. He has been named Baarack.

“The wild mouflon, from whom Baarack and his kind have, throughout the ages, been selectively bred, did fine on their own — navigating rocky terrain, dodging predators and shedding their hair annually in harmony with the seasons. But not so today; they rely on humans for sustenance, shelter and shearing, and failure on any of these fronts oft times proves fatal for these animals.”
How Baarack survived for several years on his own is puzzling. After shedding 77-pounds of fleece, he definitely looked underweight. The wool around his eyes made it barely possible for him to see. His hooves however were not at all overgrown; he had spent years running over rocks in the forest.
Surprisingly, even though Baarack is a prey animal and had little contact with humans, according to the rescue’s founder, Kyle Behrend, he will now turn and face humans and curiously walk towards people to touch their outstretched hands – possibly remembering positive experiences with humans at one time in his life.
 “From relieving him of all that wool, removing the long and pointy grass seed that had become wedged between his cornea and eyelid that had caused a nasty ulcer, through to the many hours we spent painstakingly plucking dozens and dozens of doggedly determined grass seeds that had ploughed their way into his flesh, Baarack, a being of reason, sees us as the good guys,” Behrend wrote on the organization’s Facebook page.
And now Baarack has new friends to hang out with reminding us all of the goodness of people and the amazing odds this boy was able to overcome.
“Sheep of today require at least annual shearing for their welfare. This is a direct result of human selective breeding for wool that is harvested for commercial purposes and speaks to how we have altered their lives. The wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, from whom they are descended, was a coarse-haired animal with a downy undercoat. This body covering responded to the seasons, growing dense and providing protection in the cooler months, only to then be shed in the summer months.”
Donations to this organization can be made by clicking here.
(Photos via Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary)

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