Fact check: Partly false story about Shrek, a very woolly sheep from New Zealand

He lived in New Zealand and his name was Shrek – the sheep’s real name, but some wrong facts get posted about his storied life.

The Tale of Shrek

In 1998, when Shrek, a Merino sheep, disappeared from a New Zealand ranch, he was assumed to be deceased. However, on South Island, six years later, he was discovered concealing himself within caves.

“We had no idea he was present,” John Perriam, the owner of Shrek, informed BBC in 2004. “He resembled a biblical entity.”

According to the Otago Daily Times of New Zealand, Perriam is the individual depicted in the photograph that was shared on Facebook.

According to the BBC, Shrek possessed 60 pounds of fleece – sufficient to produce 20 sizeable men’s suits upon discovery. The sheep also managed to avoid shearing while avoiding capture.

Shrek went on to become the subject of several children’s books. In May 2004, he then met Helen Clark, the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

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Perriam informed media outlets at that time that Shrek was euthanized in 2011 at the age of 17 due to declining health.

In 2011, Perriam informed the local broadcaster TVNZ, “He was simply a regular sheep, went missing without leave and concealed himself, and when he was discovered, he became the beloved figure of the entire country.”

There are no wolves in New Zealand.

Although certain aspects of Shrek’s narrative as presented in the Facebook post are correct, there are inconsistencies in certain particulars.

In New Zealand, there are no wolves. That is the issue with the article, as it claims that wolves attempted to devour Shrek during his absence.

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According to the Department of Conservation in New Zealand, the only mammals that are native to the country are bats and marine creatures such as dolphins, seals, and whales.

According to the website of the organization, feline predators, canines, weasels, untamed swine, possums, and rodents are classified as mammalian predators. The conservation group Kiwis for Kiwi affirms that prior to human introduction, the nation did not possess any land-dwelling mammalian predators.

Our assessment: Partially inaccurate