Iceland review - 2012, Page 69

On September 11, a state of emergency was
declared in Northeast Iceland. A couple of days
earlier, a fierce and unexpected snowstorm hit
the region leaving sheep, still in the mountains
for summer grazing, buried in record snowfall. It
was expected that thousands might perish, so, day and night, farmers
and around one hundred members of search and rescue teams dug
sheep out of snowdrifts, amazed to find most of them alive.
“The Icelandic sheep are stubborn creatures. They have lived here
for more than a millennium and are well adapted to harsh condi-
tions. I think they can survive for more than two weeks trapped
under snow and ice,” says sheep farmer Arnór Erlingsson from
Þverá in Fnjóskadalur valley. “We feared the worst after the blizzard,
thought we had lost hundreds of sheep, but found only ten dead.
We dug out a great number of sheep which had been stuck for five
days. And they were alive and kicking, just ran away as if nothing
had happened. Unbelievably strong animals.”
Iceland Review joined göngur up north in
Flateyjardalur valley in mid-September to meet part
of the one million sheep that inhabit Iceland.
This ram is tired but happy to
be back to civilization.
Can you spot the farmer trying to spot missing sheep in Flateyjardalur valley, half-way home?