Meet ‘Shrek 2’: New Zealand shearer discovers enormous sheep living on a forestry block near his station
- An enormous sheep was discovered by a farmer on New Zealand’s North Island
- Rob Faulkner found Shrek 2 living in a forestry block next to his station
- He said Shrek 2 had gone ‘feral’ and avoided being shorn for five years
- The original Shrek from south New Zealand avoided capture for seven years
A New Zealand shearer has discovered a huge fluffy sheep – dubbed Shrek 2 – living next to his station.
Rob Faulkner, who works at Wairakaia Station on the North Island, said the wild sheep had avoided shearing for about five years by living in a nearby forestry block.
‘Every attempt we made in the past to muster the animal failed. Over time sheep like it become a bit feral and get very cunning,’ Mr Faulkner told The Gisborne Herald.
A New Zealand farmer discovered a massive sheep named Shrek 2 (pictured) that had been living in a forest block next to his station and avoided being shorn for five years
Shrek 2 was named after another New Zealand ram named Shrek (pictured) who was discovered with a record breaking 27kg fleece in 2004 and gained international fame
Shrek 2 was named after a Merino that gained international fame in 2004 after he was found on New Zealand’s South Island with a fleece around 27kgs.
Mr Faulkner said he was in awe when he first discovered the enormous sheep.
‘A few weeks ago it got into the back paddock and I realised just what a magnificent sheep it was,’ he explained.
The shearer said he was unsure of the sheep’s weight or gender but would find out at the Poverty Bay A&P Spring Show.
‘We are working on a ‘guess the weight of the fleece’ competition, and at some time on the Friday afternoon of the show, Shrek 2 will be shorn,’ he said.
The original Shrek was discovered in Tarras, a tiny farming community, and evaded the annual shearing round-ups for seven years.
Shrek’s owner John Perriam described him as ‘an elderly statesman’.
Shrek (pictured) avoided shearing for seven years by hiding in caves around his farm
Shrek was toured around the country for charity events in the back of a van by musterer Danny Devine (left) and owner John Perriam (right)
Mr Perriam said Shrek was able to survive the winters and avoid detection by moving about a series of sheltered caves and by munching on small native shrubs.
‘It’s bizarre that we missed him seven years in a row,’ he said.
‘But from his point of view, it was the perfect environment.’
Shrek was one of about 17,000 sheep on the the 27,000-acre farm.
After Shrek became a star, Mr Perriam gave him his own barn and showroom.
Shrek even had a personal carer to look after him when he became sick, before being put to sleep at the age of 17 in 2011.
A ram dubbed Shrek II was also discovered in regional New South Wales in 2018.
He was located near the Warrumbungle National Park, 550 kilometres northwest of Sydney, with a massive fleece weighing in at 30kg.
A ram also dubbed Shrek II (pictured) was found by New South Wales farmers in 2018 with more than 30kgs of wool