Sense of smell

On October 12, 1869, a devastating snowstorm struck North Iceland.

The ground was bare, and all the sheep were outside. The weather was extreme, with such heavy snowfall within a single day that the drifts in hollows and ravines became 5–7 fathoms (3-4,2 meters) thick. Thousands of sheep were buried that day in various districts, particularly in Þingeyjarsýsla.

Most of the sheep were found after a few days, either dead or alive. Those who owned large flocks buried in the snow searched daily whenever the weather permitted.

The method involved people using long iron rods to probe the snowdrifts while simultaneously employing dogs to assist in the search. It soon became evident that certain dogs were exceptionally skilled at locating the sheep. These dogs could find nearly every sheep as long as they were no deeper than 3–4 fathoms (1,8-2,4 meters) below the surface. Such dogs were loaned from farm to farm, but their owners had to accompany them; otherwise, the dogs would not search.

In this way, many sheep were found buried deep in the snow. These dogs searched by sniffing as they walked across the snowdrifts. When they detected something suspicious, they would stop, sniff around, and dig into the snow, sometimes whining or barking softly. It was rare for sheep not to be found beneath such a spot.

I witnessed one of these dogs find eight sheep, all in separate locations, which had been buried under a drift at the edge of a ravine for nearly four weeks. This area had previously been searched with iron rods. (Tryggvi Gunnarsson, in Dýravinur II, 1887, pp. 84–85).

On October 11, 1877, sheep were again buried by snowstorms in northern Iceland.

It is said that some dogs, such as those from Kroppur in Eyjafjörður and Þverá in Laxárdalur, proved exceptionally skilled at locating sheep using their keen sense of smell, even under snowdrifts 3–5 fathoms (1,8-3 meters) deep. They never failed; wherever they dug into the snow, animals were found lying or standing beneath. (Norðanfari, Vol. 16, 1877, p. 152).

This account can be found in the book Lýsing Íslands (Description of Iceland) by Þorvaldur Thoroddsen, Volume IV, Part I, 1920.

Photographs of Stokk-Sels Bósi, Gerplu Kvika, Sunnusteins Máni Prins, Breiðanes Kría, and Breiðanes Björt, taken at Lýtingsstaðir in February 2024.