A man has photographed a rare white reindeer while on a walk in the north of Norway. Mads Nordsveen, from Norway's capital city, was hiking in the mountains. While walking through the snow, he saw a small white animal. He realized it was a reindeer. He said it was so white, "he almost disappeared into the snow". Nordsveen said the experience was "magical" and like a "fairy tale". He said: "The reindeer came to me very close and we looked into each other's eyes. He was very calm....He behaved as if he was posing for my photos. He was very curious...like a little explorer."
The photograph has gone viral on social media. It has been liked over 30,000 times since Nordsveen uploaded it. It is good luck in Norway to see a white reindeer. It is also good timing as Christmas is coming. According to folklore, Santa Claus' sleigh is pulled by eight flying reindeer. They help Santa to deliver presents to children. However, Santa's reindeer are usually brown. A white reindeer's unusual appearance is because of a genetic problem that removes colour from its fur. They are not albino. In the USA, reindeer are known as caribou.
