Shaggy Australian sheep produces 52 pounds of wool

REUTERS

11 years ago

In this image made from video, Shaun the shaggy Australian sheep stands after being shorn in Midlands, Australia, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. Shaun received his 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)

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)

In this image made from video, Shaun the shaggy Australian sheep is shorn in Midlands, Australia, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. Shaun received his 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)

SYDNEY — Shaun the shaggy Australian sheep has at last been shorn smooth. But the woolly wanderer wasn’t the wooliest of all.

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 Shaun lost 52 pounds of wool at his first haircut.

Owners Peter and Netty Hazel had hoped Shaun would beat a record held by a now-deceased New Zealand sheep named Shrek.

Shrek 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.