An Australian merino sheep who made headlines for the record-breaking weight of his fleece has died aged 10.
The sanctuary taking care of the animal, Chris, revealed he was found dead on Tuesday morning after failing to arrive to his daily breakfast.
'We have heartbreaking news. Chris the sheep has passed away,' the Little Oak Sanctuary in New South Wales said in a Facebook post.
Chris was spotted in 2015 by a bushwalker on the northern outskirts of Canberra, Australia's capital, and experts feared he would not survive because of the sheer weight of his coat.
He was struggling to walk under the weight of his wool, which had not be shorn in more than five years and had reached the size of a small car.
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Four-time national shearing champion Ian Elkins was brought in to remove 41.1kg of wool from Chris - the most ever taken from a sheep in a single shearing.
The wool removed - worth about $413.60 (£220) at current prices - made him the unofficial carrier of the world's heaviest fleece.
Little Oak Sanctuary's statement added: 'We are heartbroken at the loss of this sweet, wise, friendly soul. Chris is known as the world record holder for having grown the heaviest fleece on record.
'He was so much more than this, so very much more, and we will remember him for all that he was - someone, not something - here with us, not for us.'
Little Oak Sanctuary vice president and co-founder Kate Luke told the Canberra Times: 'He's been really happy and healthy recently. His death came out of the blue. His system just gave way.
'Chris was coming up to 10 years, and generally sheep can live up to 12 years old. We found him on Tuesday morning when he didn't show up to get breakfast.
'He was a sanctuary favourite and he had a deep baritone noise and was always one of the first to arrive for food.'
Chris' fleece dethroned that of New Zealand sheep Big Ben, who was found carrying nearly 29kg of wool in 2014.
The Australian merino's fleece was later put on show in the National Museum of Australia's Old New Land gallery.
Mr Elkins had to do the shearing in two layers and needed four helpers to do the job.
He began shearing at about 9am and took about 45 minutes to finish the first pass.
The average fleece weighs 5kg and takes just three minutes to shear.
The champion shearer said at the time he estimated he cut seven years' worth of growth - double the sheep's body weight.
'I wouldn't say it is high quality, but you wouldn't expect it to be after so long in the bush,' Mr Elkins said of the fleece.
'It's amazing it has survived all these years out in the wild,' he said.
A children's book was even written about Chris, with proceeds going toward the RSPCA.
Chris' discovery also led to offers rolling in from people offering to adopt him - with the number of requests made to ACT RSPCA running into the hundreds.
The RSPCA said there have been a number of cases where sheep have lost their flock and lived in the wild.
One of those cases was New Zealander Shrek with a 27kg fleece - a fellow rogue sheep who evaded the shearing shed for years.
In September 2014, a sheep named Shaun was discovered living in the Tasmanian bush after going missing for at least six years.
Another Tasmanian sheep called Cecil had its fleece weigh in at 38kg in June 2017 after getting itself lost in bushland.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
