For six years, Shrek the sheep was gone.
Then it suddenly reappeared and was barely recognizable.
His transformation is celebrated online.
A
sheep
escapes and lives wild for six years on the
South Island of New Zealand
.
When it reappears, it
has grown
27 kilograms of wool
.
Shrek the sheep
became a celebrity and a national icon - an
internet hit
anyway.
The story happened many years ago, but it still puts you in a good mood.
Tarras / New Zealand -
New Zealand
is known for its
sheep
.
One of them is even world famous and a
national icon
for the island
nation
.
The story of Shrek is old, so beautiful that it could put many in a good mood, even now in the Corona crisis.
But how does a
sheep
, of which there are around 27.9 million in New Zealand, become so prominent?
(For comparison: 4.9 million people live in New Zealand.)
Shrek the sheep
, named after the famous film ogre, is a real vagabond.
For six years it
stuck out, hid in caves, and simply refused to be caught by farmer John Perriam.
New Zealand: Sheep runs away for six years - wool keeps growing
So the sheep went
through
an
insane transformation
.
Merino sheep
, like Shrek, are usually
sheared
once a year
.
And that is also urgently needed because, unlike other sheep breeds, they
do not
lose
their wool
on
their
own.
Shrek the sheep: 27 kilograms of wool - Merino sheep is famous as a wool ball
When Shrek
reappeared
after
six years without a haircut
, he was barely recognizable.
He had grown
27 kilograms of wool
.
As a
fluffy wool ball
, it immediately became famous on the island.
Check out this post on Instagram
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Shrek was allowed to keep his
woolly splendor
for
almost two weeks
after returning, then a professional started the scissors.
The shear was even
broadcast live
on
TV
in New Zealand
and nationwide.
His wool was enough for
20 large men's sweaters
.
It was auctioned and
the sum donated to a children's charity
.
It should only have been the first small donation, and many more were added later.
Merino sheep more than just an internet hit: Shrek meets Prime Minister and welcomes guests from Chile
On the Internet, for example on Twitter and the picture platform Instagram *,
Shrek the sheep was a direct hit
.
But things also went steeply uphill for the animal
in real life
.
In May 2004 the
sheep was a guest in the New Zealand parliament
.
New Zealand's then
Prime Minister Helen Clark
apparently got along well with the fluffy visitor and raved about how calm and tame Shrek was.
He promptly
welcomed Chile's president and his agriculture minister into parliament
.
So
thanks to his mane
,
Shrek became a celebrity
, a
national
symbol
and, in a way, a
style icon
.
How many followers could he collect as an influencer today?
Having to live with the fact that i can be cool but I'll never be as cool as Shrek the Sheep pic.twitter.com/N7CoslMvCF
- 🌿Val🌿 (@ryuzaki_vale) November 11, 2020
But when
Shrek the sheep
appeared again after six years, it was high time for it.
“He had a lot of
wool over his eyes,
” explained owner John Perriam at the time, “he would not have survived much longer in the wild.
It was
too heavy and couldn't see where it was going.
“He was able to live as a celebrity for seven years before he unfortunately had to be put to sleep in June 2011.
Shrek is said to have raised
around
100 million dollars
for a good cause during this time, mainly through image rights.
(moe) * tz.de is part of the Ippen editorial network.