A vagabond sheep that grew a Shrek-like fleece is looking for a new home after being rescued from the Central Otago wilderness.
Four SPCA staff took about three hours to catch the 80kg ewe, who is now called Millie, after a member of the public spotted her near Millers Flat in late September.
Animal welfare inspector Alana Cowper said Millie was roaming in a scrub patch near the Clutha River, having likely separated from her mob.
"Because of how woolly she was, if she got anywhere near that water, it was going to be a big problem so our plan was sort of to get behind her as much as possible to push up towards the fence line," she said.
That was made difficult by Millie's big flight zone – the distance from which she could get spooked – and her knowledge of the local area, Cowper said.
"She'd been on that piece of land for so long she had created all these little pathways through the scrub and there were definitely a few points where I think she she outsmarted us."
Once Millie eventually ran out of energy and let SPCA staff escort her to a trailer, she turned out to be in surprisingly good condition, she said.
"We could feel, when we caught her, that she was really muscly and had a lot of fat covering, so she was eating really well while she was on that property."
Cowper said Millie had been health-checked and shorn, transforming her into a much leaner, faster version of herself.
The inspectors estimated the ewe was about four years old.
"Now we're just waiting for somebody to make contact to offer her a good home. She's ready to make some friends. I think she's had her life on her own, and she's been an independent woman, but they're social animals, so she needs a mob she can integrate into," Cowper said.
The SPCA put Millie up for adoption by donation at its centre in Dunedin, describing her as a "quiet lawn mower" with a gentle soul and a story of survival.
By Katie Todd of rnz.co.nz
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