A man Norway has photographed a rare white reindeer calf while a walk in the north his country. Mads Nordsveen, 24, Norway's capital city Oslo, was hiking the mountains the weekend. While walking the snow, he spotted a smallish white animal and realized it was a reindeer. Mr Nordsveen said the creature was so white, "he almost disappeared the snow". Nordsveen described the experience as being "magical" and like a "fairy tale". He said: "The reindeer came to me very close and we looked each other's eyes. He was very calm when he saw that I did not have bad intentions. He behaved as if he was posing my photos. He was very curious...like a little explorer."
The photograph the reindeer calf has gone viral social media. It has been liked 30,000 times since Nordsveen uploaded it Monday. It is good luck in Scandinavian countries to see a white reindeer. Many people think it is good timing as Christmas is coming. According to folklore, Santa Claus' sleigh is pulled eight flying reindeer. They help Santa to deliver presents to good children Christmas Eve. However, Santa's reindeer are usually brown. A white reindeer is very rare. Their unusual appearance is caused a genetic condition that removes colour their fur. People can mistake such a reindeer being an albino, but this is not the case. In the USA, reindeer are known caribou.
