Countywide : It’s Shear Delight for Sheep, Kids
For sheep wearing thick wool coats, summertime heat is bad news.
So on Wednesday at the Santa Ana Zoo, five sheep were shorn in anticipation of climbing temperatures and peak suntanning season.
About 800 schoolchildren and adults from throughout the county attended the 12th annual Sheepshearing Festival and watched as two professional shearers helped the animals slip into something more comfortable.
“They’re all naked now,” zoo spokeswoman Leslie Perovich said of the sheep. “It was like getting a buzz haircut. There’s like nothing there.”
The demonstration was done in public to show the children how wool is gathered and how it is used.
During the midmorning festival, children also saw wool spun into yarn and yarn woven into fabric, Perovich said.
She added that sheep are shorn about this time each year to ensure that the animals remain comfortable; thick wool coats become itchy as well as hot for the animals during summer months.
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