SYDNEY (TheBlaze/AP) — Shaun, a runaway Australian sheep, got the first haircut of his life this week after he was caught. It was thought Shaun could set a record for being the wooliest of sheep, but in the end he came up a few pounds short.
This image made from video, shows Shaun the shaggy Australian sheep with farmers before being shorn in Midlands, Australia, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. Shaun received his first haircut for the first time in years Thursday, losing 52 pounds of wool but fleece failed to break record. (AP Photo/AuBC via AP Video)
The sheep apparently had been hiding for years on a farm on the island state of Tasmania and had never been shorn. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday that 6-year-old Shaun lost 52 pounds of wool at his first haircut.
Shaun in the process of getting cut. (AP/AuBC via AP Video)
The end result. (AP/AuBC via AP Video)
"He couldn't see very well because of the wool over his face, so I snuck up behind him and grabbed him," Shaun's owner, Peter Hazel told ABC News.
Hazel and his wife had hoped Shaun would beat a record held by a now-deceased New Zealand sheep named Shrek.
"It is the heaviest sheep I've ever lifted," Netty Hazel told ABC News of Shaun. "I just couldn't believe it, I just could not believe a sheep could have so much wool."
Watch the AP's report about the sheep's shearing:
Shrek the sheep rose to fame in 2004 after he was found hiding in caves on his farm, having evaded the annual shearing roundups for seven years. He had 60 pounds of wool shorn off his body.
