Posted on 04/28/2022 7:12:03 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Gavin Loxton has more than 5,000 sheep at the high-country farm he runs in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand, so he said it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t notice when one of his lambs was missing about four years ago.
But he definitely noticed when the sheep was found.
After several years on the run, the wayward male Merino was discovered on April 14 hiding in an outcropping of rocks on Mount Edward — which has an elevation 6,765 feet — with almost double his weight in wool.
Shrekapo, as he was nicknamed by residents of the Lake Tekapo township, had so much wool that his fleece had grown over his eyes and left him “wool blind,” said Loxton. Loxton is owner of the Sawdon Station farm and vacation cottages on New Zealand’s South Island.
“If he had fallen over, he’d have rolled straight down,” Loxton said.
After a date with an expert shearer and hand blade, though, Shrekapo — named after a sheep called Shrek that famously escaped shearing for six years — is now much lighter on his feet.
On April 18, one of New Zealand’s champion shearers, Tony Dobbs, cut 41 pounds of wool off the bulky sheep before a crowd of hundreds of Shrekapo fans.
About 300 people turned out to watch the shearing, said Loxton, 50, adding that in his estimation, the discovery of Shrekapo is one of the best events to happen in Lake Tekapo in years.
“Like many towns, we’ve had a shortage of good news stories for a while,” he said. “Shrekapo’s independent streak has given us all something to celebrate.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
FULL ARCHIVED VERSION>>> https://archive.ph/ALdcF
Many domesticated animals would have a hard time surviving without people to care for them. Imagine a Lhasa Also in the wild. Or a domesticated turkey.
Can you imagine how much better that little guy feels right now?? Great story, bet he won’t run away from home again!!
🐑👍
Carding wool! I just learned how to do that a few years ago. When we get the big pole barn built, I plan on raising Angora Rabbits for their fur. Easier to handle than sheep. :)
A lot of the more primitive breeds of sheep either don’t grow wool, or else shed their wool naturally. They look more like goats than sheep.
A fun read, thank you.
Somewhere I had read that T. Jefferson said “Merino wool is gods gift to man”.
And thinking of his winter wear at the time...
Fun bits about Jefferson and Merino sheep:
https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/sheep
“Meanwhile, an agricultural craze was brewing that would grip the nation for two years. For centuries, Spain had closely guarded her renowned Merino flocks, noted for the finest fleeces in the world. The wool was bought up by European cloth manufacturers, but the sheep were forbidden to leave the country. Cracks in this embargo had begun to open in the previous century, with Spanish gifts of choice Merinos to the rulers of Denmark, Germany, and France. Smuggling, however, was still the only method of acquiring one if you were not a king. The unfortunate Andrew Craigie is remembered in the annals of agricultural history for having received the first Merinos smuggled into Boston in 1793. Unaware of their value, he butchered and ate them. Sixteen years later, in the midst of the Merino craze, Craigie had to pay $1,000 for a Spanish ram.”
“In March 1809, when Jefferson handed over the reins of government to James Madison, his successor wore a suit of homespun for the ceremonies. George Washington had initiated the custom of inaugural clothing of native manufacture. For his own final state event, the President’s House reception on the first day of 1809, Jefferson wished to be attired not just in American-made cloth, but in purebred Merino wool. David Humphreys responded to the President’s “anxious wish to be supplied with sufficient Cloth for a Coat to wear on the approaching New Year’s day, even if it should not be of the finest quality.” To make his deadline, Jefferson had to settle for several yards of “superfine black cloth” made from the wool of “3/4 and 7/8” rather than of purebred Merinos”
Cool! Thanks!
I'm using a list copy a couple months old. Apologies to anyone left off, or who asked to be removed recently.
With all that wool, good thing he was never caught in the rain...........
The lanolin in the wool protects them from the rain.
.
Note to self: Avoid Shrekapo when looking for a vacation hot spot.........
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” —Luke 15:4 - 7
18.6 kg is 41 lbs of wool. Wow! It’s as if a diminutive mother had to carry a 5-year-old boy around all the time.
LOL!!
One of the unique things about sheep's wool is that sheep produce lanolin, a waxy, oily secretion that helps the wool repel water. Nature's WD-40!
Those grayish-yellowish Aran Isles sweaters you see on the Irish fishermen help them to repel the mist and moisture while they work. Knitters can buy lanolin-oiled wool in various degrees of water resistance. The darker the wool, the more lanolin has been left in. The whiter the wool, the more it's been bleached out.
Great product and it smells good too.
That’s amazing! A natural product, too.
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