Sheep are generally pretty gentle, easygoing animals, which makes herding them a pretty simple and easy task. As you approach them, they’ll just start moving in the opposite direction. And they follow each other, so stragglers tend to move towards the big group. But for every rule, there is an exception, and for this story, the exception looks like this:
This is Shrek, named after another merino sheep that achieved much more notoriety a few years back when it eluded shearers for six years, and grew a massive fleece in the meantime. Our version probably only avoided the clippers for a couple of years, but it carried a lot of wool nonetheless. Shrek looks pretty pleased with himself in the picture above, but as soon as he realized that we were trying to catch him, that smile on his face quickly vanished.
When Joey and I were given the task to move him towards the shearing pen, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. But as soon as we got close, it became apparent why he hadn’t been shorn in so long. While the rest of the sheep moved away when we approached, Shrek turned to face us and stood his ground. He doesn’t like being herded, barked at and especially prodded with a stick.
It took time, but eventually, after several failed attempts to even get him to budge, Joey and I moved him along and Ken had to literally ride him into the pen. Finally, after Ken and I got Shrek on his back, Bucko took over. He’s been shearing since 1966 and was definitely the hero of the day. Have a look:
The before and after shots are above. In the second picture you can get a sense of how much bigger Shrek is compared to other sheep. Combine Shrek’s size and hostility, and you see that he is no ordinary ram. But given how Bucko made it look so easy, you have to also conclude that he is no ordinary shearer…
Several Wonders 