A strong, silent type has caught the eye of a lost and lonely sheep in Australia.
The sheep has befriended a giant ram statue at a farming settlement, 190 miles south of Perth and refuses to leave.
The bond has become so close that the sheep has been at the side of the ram for nine days while remaining unclaimed.
The neutered ram was first spotted early last week inside the Katanning Regional Saleyards but it is unknown where he came from.
Rod Bushell, the manager, said: “He probably jumped out of a sheep truck and let himself in.”
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Mr Bushell said he and his staff took no notice of the sheep at first, but after more than a week of lingering by the statue, the animal had become a familiar sight in the town of 3,600 residents.
“Even when people walk up to the statue, he just walks away for a little bit and then comes back,” he said.
“He's just set up camp. When he’s not near it, he's grazing the lawn near by, and then the rest of the time he just sleeps between its legs.”
Mr Bushell said the sheep had been drinking out of a nearby dam and eating grass to survive. He said onlookers were curious to see how long the sheep would stand by the monument.
“We’re a bit loath to get too close to him, because at the moment it's a bit fascinating to see how long he'll stay there," he said.
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Mr Bushell said if the sheep was looking for a new friend, he had timed his arrival well. After sitting in the shed at the saleyards for the past year, the statue has just been erected outside.