Carry On Icelandic: Culture [selections] (2004)
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Dýralíf - Animal Life
Dýralíf
Vegna einangrunar landsins hafa ekki orðið miklar breytingar á dýralífi þess. Flestar dýrategundir eru af erlendum uppruna og talið er að einungis ein spendýrategund, tófan, hafi haft hér búsetu á undan manninum. Aðrar spendýrategundir hafa komið með honum við landnám. Þeirra á meðal er sauðkindin, sem átti eftir að halda lífinu í mannfólkinu á erfiðleikatímum, og hesturinn sem er líklega þekktastur íslenskra dýra.
Hestar eigast við í Eyjafirði (Horses fighting in Eyjafjörður).
Hreindýr voru flutt til landsins á 18. öld og eru nú um 3000 talsins. Þau eru einu dýrin af hjartarætt á Íslandi og lifa á heiðunum norðan og austan Vatnajökuls.
Fiskisæld er mikil í íslenskum ám og vötnum og er lax- og silungsveiði vinsælt sport. Þá er fuglalíf fremur fjölskrúðugt í landinu og við strendur þess. Í hafinu umhverfis landið er fjölbreytt lífríki og þangað hafa Íslendingar jafnan sótt lífsbjörg sína.
Animal Life
Due to the isolation of the country, there has been little change in its animal life. Most of the animal species have been introduced and it is thought that only one type of mammal, the fox (locally called "tófan"), had its home in Iceland prior to human settlement. The other mammals have been brought to Iceland since settlement. These include the sheep, which has often kept people alive during difficult times, and the horse, most likely the best-known of animals in Iceland.
Reindeer were introduced to Iceland in the eighteenth-century and now number around 3000. They are the only type of deer to be found in Iceland and live on the heath lands to the north and east of Vatnajökull.
The rivers and lakes of Iceland abound with a rich stock of fish and salmon and trout fishing are popular sports. The bird life is rather diverse in the country and along the coastline. The coastal waters are home to great biological diversity, and here too Icelanders have often sought life-saving sustenance.
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