When we think of sheep, we may think of fluffy farm animal that goes “Baa.” But one of the most unique things about sheep is their cozy flock that and gets sheared to create sweaters and the like for humans. In the United States, the average weight of a fleece taken off a sheep is over seven pounds which may sound like a lot: Until you meet Baarack.
Baarack is an abandoned sheep found by rescuers in Australia. When he was found by Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary, an animal rescue and sanctuary on a farm in Lancefield, north of Melbourne, he had 78 pounds of wool weighing him down! That’s quite a bit more than the average of seven.
According to Behrend Sanctuary member Kyle Behrend, sheep need to be sheared at least once a year. “Otherwise, the fleece continues to grow and grow, as happened here,” he said.
Though Baarack’s wool was plentiful to say the least, after he was sheared, it turns out he was still pretty underweight due to being abandoned. The added wool also impeded his vision. Luckily, his hooves managed to stay well-kept after being in the forest for an undetermined amount of time.
You can imagine how shocking 78 pounds of wool would look like on an animal like this. When the sanctuary shared Baarack’s story on their TikTok account, it received almost 3 million views.
@edgarsmissionMeet Baarack – this poor boy arrived yesterday, having been on the run bush land for years! ️ #transformation #kindness #farmsanctuary♬ Hold On – Chord Overstreet
After finally being sheared, Baarack is doing quite well in the sanctuary. He’s made some sheep friends, eats like a king sheep, and is fitting right in.
@edgarsmissionBaarack is getting more confident everyday! ️ #edgarsmission #farmsanctuary #animalrescue #friendsnotfood #transformation #sheep #kindness♬ Can We Kiss Forever? – Kina
“All goes to show what incredibly resilient and brave animals sheep really are and we could not love them any more if we tried,” Baarack said.
To learn more about Baarack’s story and see the crazy transformation after he was sheared, check out the video below.
Though this is a crazy amount of wool, the current world record for sheep coats is held by Chris, a Merino also rescued in Australia back in 2015. The wool was just over 90 pounds when he was finally sheared.
Have you ever seen a sheep with a huge coat like Baarack’s? What do you think of his before and after?