KEY POINTS:
A hermit sheep caught after five years living in isolation in forest above Taradale has been unburdened of its 17kg fleece.
Shrek II, as he's been called by farmer and owner Bill Hoffman after the Southland hermit merino found in 2004, spent five years living a life of solitude in a forestry block until last week. He is the last remaining stray of a handful that escaped into the bush half a decade ago.
The "original" Shrek's fleece weighed in at a whopping 27kg.
Shrek II was finally nabbed last week, cornered at last after evading capture for so long.
Mr Hoffman said the rogue ram was in good nick when found, despite going without a shear or a drench for his entire life: "He's a magnificent sheep."
On Tuesday, Shrek II was shorn for the first time by Napier shearer Bruce Kent and, despite the worst being expected from such a wild character, everything went well, Mr Hoffman said.
"The sheep was surprisingly docile, although it wasn't easy shearing - he was pretty matted.
"We thought we might have had a few problems holding him while shearing him, but that didn't eventuate.
"He was pretty co-operative, really."
Mr Hoffman said a ewe shorn annually would, if it yielded a really good clip, produce a fleece of between 4kg and 5kg.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
