YAKUTSK, January 17 (RIA Novosti) - A herd of horses in the Republic of Yakutia, in east Siberia, have accepted a reindeer as their own, a local horse breeder told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
"The case is, of course, unique - horses accepting a reindeer into their herd. What's more they will not allow anyone to take it away to rejoin its own kind," said Vladimir Koryakin.
According to the horse breeder, it is not clear how the young reindeer teamed up with the horses, whose pasture ground lies about 250-270 km (150-170 miles) away from the nearest known reindeer herd and lacks the lichen that reindeers mainly feed on.
The horses, ten females and a male, have vigorously opposed any attempt to take the reindeer away, sheltering it with their bodies and even adopting "a threatening manner."
