Shrek (27 November 1994 – 6 June 2011) was a

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

wether (

castrated Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceut ...

male sheep) belonging to Bendigo Station, a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

near

Tarras Tarras is a small farming settlement in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. Tarras is located on the slopes above the upper reaches of the Clutha Valley, on State Highway 8. It is the first village reached by travellers heading s ...

, New Zealand, who gained international fame in 2004, after he avoided being caught and

shorn Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a '' shearer''. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year (a sheep may be said to have been "shorn" or ...

for six years. Merinos are normally shorn annually, but Shrek apparently hid in caves, avoiding muster. He was named after the fictional ogre in books and films of the same name. After finally being caught on 15 April 2004, the wether was shorn by a professional in 20 minutes on 28 April. The shearing was broadcast on national television in New Zealand. His fleece contained enough

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

to make 20 large men's suits, weighing 27 kg (60 lb) – an average Merino fleece weighs around 4.5 kg (10 lb), with exceptional weights up to around 15 kg (33 lb). Shrek became a national icon. He was taken to parliament to meet the then-New Zealand Prime Minister,

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

, in May 2004, to celebrate his 10th birthday. In November 2006, 30 months after his initial shearing, Shrek was shorn again, on an iceberg floating off the coast of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand. Shrek was

euthanised Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

on 6 June 2011 on a veterinarian's advice. He was 16.

References

{{reflist 1994 animal births 2011 animal deaths Individual sheep New Zealand culture Sheep farming in New Zealand Individual animals in New Zealand Animal deaths by euthanasia Animal mascots

See also

References