It's baaad news for "Gizzy Shrek", the sheep who has eluded a Gisborne farmer for five years, who has finally been caught.
After years of trying, Wairakaia Station farmer Robert Faulkner has managed to muster a sheep with fleece estimated to be over 60cm in length.
Faulkner says the Coopworth Romney breed has been living in a neighbouring forestry block for the last five years, occasionally being sighted on the boundary, but eluding his dogs' musters back into his paddocks.
But after she was spotted inside the station's boundary mingling with the rest of the flock, she's now back on the farm, impressive coat and all.
"Yesterday was the first time she's been handled by a human." Faulkner told 1 NEWS, as the sheep still has a tail and no ear marking.
Despite being understandably apprehensive about her new environment, she appears to be in perfect health.
She's been dubbed "Gizzy Shrek" as Faulkner believes her fleece could rival her namesake and national icon Shrek, who was found in Tarras, Central Otago in 2004.
Once toured around the country and then shorn, Shrek's fleece weighed 27kg.
Faulkner hopes "Gizzy Shrek" can also capture the nation's heart, or at least the East Coast's, with planning underway for her shearing at the Poverty Bay A&P show in October.
Sponsors are already keen to get on board, with a "guess the fleece weight" competition on the cards.
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