The reindeer followed the black ewe wherever it went. The other sheep were not amused but the black one was friendly towards it.

The reindeer followed the black ewe wherever it went. The other sheep were not amused but the black one was friendly towards it. Photo/Þórhallur Guðmundsson

A reindeer followed a black ewe into the pens during sheep herding near Dettifoss in Mývatnssveit. North Iceland last week. Reindeer sightings are very rare in these parts. Speaking to Morgunblaðið, sheep herder Daði Lange Friðriksson states, "It was a linebreaker." He's asked by Morgunblaðið what on earth that means. "It means that the animal crossed a disease control line. That's called a linebreaker."

So it's unusual to see a reindeer in the area? "Yes, it's outside the defined reindeer area. I suppose there might have been reindeer here in older times. There were reindeer here in the early part of the last century. But we spotted this reindeer suddenly when we were herding the sheep, and it was following a black ewe. We could see it clearly, when the reindeer lost sight of the ewe it kept looking for it. The sheep in general seemed to dislike the reindeer, all except the black ewe which seemed friendly towards it."

He adds that the reindeer, which was a cow, spent the night with the sheep inside the pen.

But what happened to the reindeer cow? "She received the appropriate treatment for linebreakers. I contacted the district vet and he ordered us to put her down. So we did."

Icelandic sheep graze freely on common highland pastures during the summer and are gathered collectively in the autumn. Disease control lines are set up to prevent the spread of infectious diseases which could be disastrous to sheep stocks.