The shear bravery of Chris the runaway sheep
In September 2015, Chris the sheep skyrocketed to international stardom as the wooliest merino ram ever on record. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, his 90 pounds of wool was also the most ever removed from a sheep in a single shearing. Experts believe he escaped from his flock between five and seven years ago, and has been "living on the lamb" ever since ... in desperate need of a haircut.
What the ...?
Chris was discovered in the Australian bush by two unsuspecting hikers, who -- much like the kangaroos in this picture -- had no idea what they were looking at.
Was it a dusty boulder? A grounded raincloud? An enormous powdered doughnut?
Oh sheep!
Negative. It was an overgrown sheep with nearly 90 pounds of extra wool. In other words, a lost animal in a baaaad situation.
Haircut 911
Here's the problem: The Australian bush isn't Brooklyn, and Chris isn't a hipster growing out a beard. A sheep with that much fleece is in grave danger.
Struggling under the weight of his coat, Chris could barely walk. He could barely see. And had he fallen down in the wilderness, he most likely would not have been able to get back up.
The epic rescue
Concerned hikers contacted the RSPCA for help, and Chris was quickly transported to Australia's Weston shelter for emergency veterinary treatment.
The haircut he so badly needed, however, was a different story.
The sheep that tweeted for help
"Help!" tweeted RSPCA CEO Tammy Ven Dange. "Need help from a shearer immediately to hopefully save this sheep we just rescued!"
Until Chris was sheared, the RSPCA's vets wouldn't be able to know for sure whether he was injured or carrying some sort of life-threatening infection. The clock was ticking.
Chris the sheep
The animal welfare group was quickly inundated with offers from local shearers. (Sheep shearing is, after all, a competitive sport in Australia.) But the job was ultimately deemed too big for anyone but the best.
Shear shock
Four-time national champion sheep-shearer Ian Elkins was called in for the hefty job, but the pro was worried. Chris's wool was so heavy that it was pulling on his skin quite dramatically. Would it even be possible to remove the coat without injuring the animal?
Chris the sheep
Chris had 89 pounds of extraneous wool on his body. That's the equivalent of 30 sweaters. So, it's a good thing he was rescued before the high temperatures of Australia's summer months.
Shear shock
Complicating matters further, Chris had been on his own in the Australian wilderness for so long that he was terrified of people. As such, the RSPCA's animal care experts were forced to sedate him, so he wouldn't go into shock during the shearing process.
Slow and steady
Elkins then sawed away at the thick coat, piece by piece...
Chris the sheep
...until the outline of Chris's actual body gradually emerged from the center of all that wool.
Slimming down
The operation lasted just over 42 minutes and, when it was over, Elkins had removed approximately half of Chris's body weight.
"The Biggest Loser"
In less than an hour, Chris went from 186 pounds to 97. That's the sort of life-changing weight loss most creatures can only dream of.
It's one small step for Chris...
Having gone from looking like cloud nine to feeling like he's on cloud nine, Chris then took his first steps out into the yard as a new ram.
Hoofing it
It was a sort of miracle that Chris was discovered and rescued when he was. All that excess wool put him in danger of developing nasty skin parasites. And as can be seen here, his hooves were in severe disrepair -- cracking and becoming infected -- under such a heavy load.
Chris the sheep
Chris's 89-pound fleece is roughly eight times larger than the average merino. So, he easily eclipsed both Shrek and Big Ben - the two rogue sheep from New Zealand who previously held the record.
Chris the sheep
"It's actually smashed the record," Chris's champion shearer, Ian Elkins, told the Guardian. "It's very exciting to be part of it, and it's quite pleasing that the welfare of this sheep was taken care of."
Sheep's all that
Since Chris's shearing, RSPCA CEO Tammy Ven Dange has taken to Twitter with several photos showing Chris with a seemingly new lease on life.
This photo, for example, was posted on September 2, 2015 with the caption: "Sheep 'Chris' is now pondering his new lighter self post @rspcaact. Note that the pink stain is antiseptic spray."
90 pounds lighter
RSPCA ACT veterinarians are now monitoring Chris's health and will be regularly updating the public on his recovery.
What's more, he'll reportedly be available for "interviews," beginning September 7, 2015, as soon as the vets give him the all clear.
Double take
The pictures of Chris's journey are simply incredible. At first glance, for example, this photo looks like a snapshot of just Chris's fleece, right?
Look closer. There's a face there.
Chris the sheep
The RSPCA ACT has yet to decide on the fate of Chris's world-class wool, which could reportedly make upwards of 30 men's suits.
Elkins, however, notes that all those years in the Australian bush have not exactly rendered the wool high quality.
To auction
According to the Canberra Times, it's more likely that the record-shattering wool will go to auction, then end up in a museum.
Pulling the wool over their eyes
Lastly, as funny as Chris looked, the underlying roots of his story are no laughing matter.
The fact is that wild sheep naturally shed their coats every year. The only reason Chris was able to grow so rotund and cloud-like is because humans have tinkered with evolution for the benefit of high-end clothing.
In other words, we have quite literally pulled the wool over sheep's eyes; breeding them specifically so that they will produce more merino, whether the process puts their lives in danger or not.