Iceland’s Unicorn-Like Ram Spared From Slaughter, Getting Auctioned Instead

The “unicorn-like” single-horned ram discovered in Iceland and that quickly went on to become an internet sensation in April, has been saved from the slaughterhouse.

According to latest reports, the unique ram, who was aptly named Einhyrningur (which means “unicorn” in the Icelandic language), will be put up for auction in the local charities next month.

The decision to auction off the creature was taken after Reykjavik Zoo’s offer of taking it in was rejected due to Iceland's strict animal movement rules.

Einhyrningur was discovered in Hraunkot sheep farm in Kirkjubæjarklaustur in south Iceland, owned by Erla Þórey Ólafs­dótt­ir.

"He just spent the summer in the fields with the other rams. But he's a bit of a loner, he gets left out a bit. I don't know if it's because he's different or whether he just chooses to be alone for some reason," she said, BBC reported.

Since the ram’s birth last year, its two horns grew to fuse together as one, and part just a little at the end. This unique feature sets Einhyrningur apart from the rest of the herd.

"Of course, the horn has grown a lot, and my children are still worried that it will eventually grow into his back because it bends back and forth,” Ólafs­dótt­ir said.

The unique shape of the horn also lends a perpetually unsettling expression on Einhyrningur’s face. So while, it may look like the ram has one horn, it actually has two. "The horns stretch his face, particularly around the eyes so he always seems to be a bit surprised. He kind of looks like people that have had a facelift," according to the owner.

The overall look of the ram is unlike others of the same species. Once when Einhyrningur was accidentally left on the mountainside when its companion sheep were rounded up for the winter, some farmers crossing the fields at Christmas could not be sure if Einhyrningur was a sheep. They thought that it was a goat, according to BBC.

As Einhyrningur was quite skinny, its owner never counted it as one of the breeding sheep. They were always planning to hold it till the next spring, if it wasn't bought by a local farmer within that period.

While Einhyrningur enjoys his fame for being unique, it is not the first time that a single-horned ram has been born in Iceland.

According to Iceland Monitor, another ram just like Einhyrningur was born in the country six decades ago.

"I have only heard of this occuring twice. Once in my childhood and now this ram found at Hraunkot farm recently,” said Halldór Árnason, who has a photograph of himself as a child with a one-horned ram just like Einhyrninguran.

“The ram on the farm where I spent my summers sixty years ago was sent to the slaughterhouse that autumn so we don't know if he would have sired other one-horned offspring. Maybe people at that time thought he could be dangerous, with this spear coming out of his head. But I remember people really stared at him, he was really special."