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AGRI 2002, 32: 45-48

Summary

A unique strain of sheep, known to lead theflock, has evolved within the short-tailed,native breed of Iceland sheep. Leadersheep,known for centuries, walk or run in front ofthe flock, even in bad weather conditions,they may foresee climatic events and aregenerally very alert and attentive. The highlevel of intelligence expressed by these sheepis known to be strongly inherited, withoutbeing linked to sex, age, colour and otherexternal traits. However, little is known aboutthe genetics of leadersheep per se. Most ofthem are non-white and horned with aslender body conformation. Since they areendangered with a breeding population ofonly some 1 000 purebred animals, mostlyewes, conservation measures are in progress,mainly through AI and individual recording.To strengthen these efforts enthusiasticbreeders and scientists founded theLeadersheep Society of Iceland in the springof 2000. While the main aim is to conserveand maintain leadersheep, future possibilitiesof utilizing their unique characteristics arebeing considered.

Résumé

Une seule lingée ovine, reconnue commeleader de troupeau, a évoluée vers la racenative à courte queue en Icelande. La raceLeadersheep, connue depuis des siècles,marche ou cours devant le troupeau mêmedans des conditions de mauvais temps, et estcapable de prévoir les évènementsclimatiques, se qui les rend extrêmementattentives. Le haut niveau d’intelligence decette race semble être de forte héritabilité,sans qu’il y ait un lien avec le sexe, l’âge, la

couleur ou d’autres caractéristiques externes.Cependant, très peu est connu de lagénétique de cette race de per se. La pluplartne sont pas blanche, portent des cornes etpossèdent un corps de conformation élancée.Etant donné la situation de danger dedisparition, seulement 1 000 animaux purs laplupart des brebis, des mesures deconservation ont été mis en place surtout àtravers l’insémination artificielle (AI) et lecontrôle individuel. Pour renforcer ces effortsenthousiamants, les éleveurs et les chercheursont fondé la Leadersheep Society of Icelandau printemps 2000. Bien que l’objectifprincipal soit de conserver et maintenir larace, on a pris aussi en considération lapossibilité d’utiliser leurs caractéristiquesuniques.

Keywords: Characteristics, Conservation,Leadersheep Society.

Introduction

The only breed of sheep in Iceland is thenative North-European short-tailed sheepbrought to the country by the settlers, theVikings, 1 100-1 200 years ago. Without theirsheep the Icelanders would not have survivedthroughout centuries of hardship on anisolated island just south of the Arctic Circle.Even grazing in winter had to be utilized tothe utmost. Somehow, a unique smallpopulation of sheep evolved, probablythrough selection in certain flocks, which

Leadersheep: the unique strain of Iceland sheepa

Ó.R. Dýrmundsson

The Farmers Association of Iceland, Bændahöllin, IS-107 Reykjavík, Iceland

a Paper presented at the joint RBI/EAAPInternational Symposium on "Conservation,management and use of rare livestock geneticresources", held in Budapest on 23rd August 2001

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46Leadersheep: the unique strain of Iceland sheep

Characteristics

The main characteristics of sheep of theleadersheep strain are to walk or run in frontof the flock, even in very bad weatherconditions. Moreover, they seem to be able toforesee or predict climatic events such assnowstorms. They are generally very alertand attentive and a large number of recordsof individual leadersheep show that theydiffer considerably from other sheep in manyaspects of intelligence (Jónsson, 1953).Although individual sheep of this strain differto the extent to which the traits are expressed,there is clearly a strong hereditary basepresent (Jónmundsson et al., 1994). Leadingcharacteristics are not linked to sex, age,colour and other external traits. However,most of the leadersheep are non-white with arange of colours. Most of them are horned,even four-horned in a few cases, they have aslender body conformation, long legs andbones, in general, and are of lighter weightthan other sheep in the flock as they havebeen selected for intelligence, not for meatcharacteristics. The ewes are excellentmothers, reproductive performance is similaras in ordinary Icelandic sheep but longevitymay be higher.

Distribution

It is generally assumed that thecradle of leadersheep breedingwas in Northeast-Iceland.Around the middle of the 20th

century there was a substantialdecline in the population ofleadersheep due to awidespread slaughter policyand restocking which resultedin the eradication of the lungdiseases Jaagziekte and Maedi.Moreover, hayfield cultivationand increased hay and silageproduction reduced the need forwinter grazing and thus the role

of leadersheep diminished in most flocks.Fortunately, steps were taken in the 1950s toconserve leadersheep and for over 40 years

Figure 1. A leadersheep (wether) coming firstacross a bridge.

Figure 2. A leadersheep leading a flock frompasture after a heavy snowfall (below)

displayed outstanding behavioural abilities toaid the management of the flock at extensiverange pastures, namely leadersheep(Adalsteinsson, 1981; Jónmundsson et al.,1994).

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47

Animal Genetic Resources Information, No. 32, 2002

Dýrmundsson

farmers have been able to obtain semen fromrams of the leadersheep strain kept at AIcentres. The stronghold of leadersheep is stillin NE-Iceland where most of the AI ramshave been obtained. Those who breedleadersheep, normally a few in each flock,keep ewes and to a lesser extent rams, butcontrary to ancient practices only smallnumbers of leadersheep are now kept aswethers. The breeding population ofleadersheep in Iceland is hardly over 1 000purebreds with perhaps some 500 crossbredindividuals. The total population of breedingsheep in Iceland is 460 000 at present. A fewcrossbred Icelandic leadersheep are nowfound in Canada and the USA due to semenexports from 1998 onwards. The AI work insuch a small population has been facilitatedby oestrus synchronization since the mid

Figure 3. A Leadersheep ram.

1970s and the Farmers’ Association willcontinue to support the conservation of thisunique strain of sheep.

Leadersheep society

Enthusiastic sheep breeders, sheep scientistsand others interested in leadersheep, foundedthe Leadersheep Society of Iceland on 18April 2000. The main aims of the society,stated in its by-law, are to support themaintenance and conservation of leadersheep,improve individual recording, gather pastand present information about such sheepand disseminate educational material aboutthem. The Society cooperates with theFarmers’ Association and other relevantbodies, for example, on the selection ofpromising leaderrams for the AI servicesoperated from two centres in the country. As

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48Leadersheep: the unique strain of Iceland sheep

I am the chairman of this newly foundedsociety, already with a membership of 140,with a few in North-America, I will do mybest to provide further information onrequest.

Conclusions

The leading instinct and other peculiarities ofIcelandic leadersheep are examples ofgenetically based rare characteristics whichdue to changes in management practices havelost much of their former economicimportance. However, I am one of those whobelieve that such unique characteristicsshould be conserved, not only for culturalreasons or as a means of maintainingbiodiversity, but also with future practicalpossibilities in mind. For example, doleadersheep still have a role in facilitatingflock management under extensive pastoral

conditions? Can their alertness help to protectflocks against predators? One wonders howbetter use could be made of such genes in thefuture.

References

Adalsteinsson, S. 1981. Origin andconservation of farm animal populations inIceland. Zeitschrift für Tierzüchtung undZüchtungsbiologie, 98(4), 258-264.

Jónmundsson, J.V., Birgisson, L.G. &Adalsteinsson, S. 1994. Leadersheep inIceland. Proceedings of the 5th WorldCongress on Genetics Applied to LivestockProduction, vo1. 20, 7-12 August 1994,University of Guelph, Canada.

Jónsson, Á. 1953. Forystufé(Leadersheep, a book in Icelandic). Publ.Búnaðarfélag Íslands, Reykjavík, pp. 336.