Iceland review - 2013, Síða 41

ICELAND REVIEW 39
SheepeSSential
through the centuries, sheep have kept their masters alive as a source of
meat, fat, milk, wool and skins, and also provided the materials for tools and
toys. a clear sign of their value: the icelandic word for sheep, fé, also means
money. the hardy creatures are practically wild in summer and—as proven
during the disastrous blizzard that struck north iceland’s mountain pastures
in september 2012—can survive up to 45 days under a cover of snow.
the toughest of the tough are the leader sheep, forystufé, which lead the
herds across obstacles and to cover in bad weather. they are not a separate
breed but have special characteristics. leader sheep are described as long-
legged, skinny, fit and resilient, with large intelligent eyes; they have a light
and special kind of walk and their coat is often dark in color. leader sheep
are mentioned in the icelandic sagas but have also been known in other
countries—they are even referenced in the Bible. however, nowadays, their
breeding appears to be limited to iceland.
sheep are among the animals brought to iceland with the norse settlers
more than 1,100 years back and have been isolated on the island since. they
are of the short-tailed breed, which used to be common across northern
Europe but can now only be found there in small numbers, and in even
smaller numbers in russia. icelandic sheep were first exported to north
america in the 1980s, where the breed is in rapid growth.
While icelandic sheep are bred almost entirely for their meat nowadays,
wool is a valued by-product. the coat has an inner and outer layer and two
kinds of fiber. these are called tog, long, wavy, coarse and water-resistant
outer hairs, and þel, short, fine, light and insulating inner hairs. this is a
special characteristic icelandic sheep are thought to have developed due
to cold and fluctuating weather conditions. the two variants of fiber can be
spun separately but combined they’re used to make lopi, a special kind of
yarn, of which the distinct icelandic lopapeysa woolen sweater is produced.
like other icelandic domestic animals, sheep come in many colors. the
four main colors are white, gray, black and rust brown—most sheep are
white—but there are many more color patterns and variants. For example,
there are tens of different variants of bicolor sheep. Both male and female
sheep can be either polled or horned.
in late summer, the sheep Farming Museum near hólmavík, the West
Fjords, hosts the annual icelandic Championship in ram groping where
professionals and non-professionals can take a stab at ranking rams
according to their qualities. the prize: sperm from the West iceland sheep
insemination Center.
Number of sheep: 474,759
(outnumbering the country’s human population of 320,661)
Average weight: 71 kg (167 lb) for ewes and 96 kg (212 lb) for rams