A wild sheep found wandering the wilderness of the Australian bush has been sheared of a huge 35-kilogram (77-pound) coat after an estimated five years of unchecked growth.

This photo from Edgar's Mission 2021 shows "Baarack", a wild sheep who was found wandering the wilderness of the Australian bush
This photo from Edgar's Mission 2021 shows "Baarack", a wild sheep who was found wandering the wilderness of the Australian bush Edgar’s Mission / Handout

Struggling under a filthy fleece caked with years of mud and tangled debris, Baarack was spotted in a Victorian state forest and taken to an animal rescue sanctuary north of Melbourne, the group said on Facebook earlier this month.

Baarack's shearing has given him a new fleece of life
Baarack's shearing has given him a new fleece of life Edgar’s Mission / Handout

"I couldn't believe there was actually a sheep alive under all of that wool," Pam Ahern, founder of Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary, told Nine News.

The sheep's matted coat had been growing uncut for close to five years, Ahern estimated.

A wild sheep found wandering the wilderness of the Australian bush has been sheared of a huge 35-kilogram (77-pound) coat after an estimated five years of unchecked growth.
A wild sheep found wandering the wilderness of the Australian bush has been sheared of a huge 35-kilogram (77-pound) coat after an estimated five years of unchecked growth. Edgar's Mission (@edgarsmission)

"I think he has been a cheeky little rascal of a young lamb who's just wandered off and never came back."

Unshorn sheep struggle to walk under the immense weight of their wool, and without a haircut at least once a year most will not last long in the wild, particularly in Australia's often harsh and dry summers.

Despite Baarack's hefty locks, he falls short of the world record held by a late compatriot, Chris, who made headlines when he was shorn of a 41-kilogram mane in 2015.