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.
See also
*
Agriculture in New Zealand
In New Zealand, agriculture is the largest sector of the tradable economy. The country exported NZ$46.4 billion worth of agricultural products (raw and manufactured) in the 12 months to June 2019, 79.6% of the country's total exported goods. Th ...
*
Chris
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common.
People with the given name
* Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...
– a similar case in Australia
*
Sonny Wool Sonny Wool (2008–2020) was a sheep from the North Island of New Zealand. Born in Dannevirke circa 2008, he was named after All Black Sonny Bill Williams. He became famous after his feeding behaviour was used to correctly predict the winner of e ...
– tongue-in-cheek "psychic sheep" that became popular during the
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...
.
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