Scrunky

It was the last day of duck season, June 2015. Whilst the hunters bagged up their morning duck bodies, lambs were being born in the dead of winter all around the state. Driving past a paddock, two duck rescuers, on their way to another lake, saw a pile of white on the paddock horizon. They decided to stop and check out what was going on.  One of the rescuers walked in to the paddock to find a pile of dead lambs all gathered together. The paddock smelt of death, death from hyperthermia. One little lamb was still alive amongst the pile. She struggled to get up and was so weak. With no ewes in sight (even with the use of binoculars), this little lamb was bundled in to the warmth of the car and in to the drivers seat of this duck rescuer’s heart.  Fifteen million lambs die within the first 48 hours of birth in Australia each year. This is a horrifying fact for most people who have never thought about it. Most die from exposure, some die from not getting enough nutrients from a ewe who has given birth to more than one lamb and is stretched to feed them all and the rest die from predator attack.

She was named, “Scrunky” because her little face was so scrunchy and wrinkly. She grew up being bottle fed in a household full of dogs, cats, chickens and love.  She even ended up going to Sydney for a while and went on numerous trips to shops around town where everyone fell in love with her.

Her bond with her carer was so very strong. When it came time for Scrunky to come and live at Lefty’s Place when she was two months old, it was with a broken heart that her carer left Scrunky with us and it was with a broken heart that I watched their parting. Their parting is something I wish didn’t have to happen, but the suburbs is no place for a sheep to be a sheep.

Scrunky was upset for days after her carer (who she thought was her mother) left, but she soon made firm friends with Banjo. Banjo was a little put out at first about another lamb stealing her limelight, but they are now the best of friends and are always together. Two sisters and best friends who will get to be together for the rest of their lives…..something that never happens in the sheep industry.

Scrunky is a sweet girl who loves affection. She desperately craves being patted and loves company.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally