Wildlife - Norway - page 971

Wildlife
Norway'swildlifemaynotmatchthenumbersfoundinneighbouringSwedenandFinland-
Norway'suniquesettlementpattern,whichspreadsthehumanpopulationthinly,limitswild-
life habitat and restricts numbers. But Norway more than compensates with its variety of
iconic northern European species, from polar bears and Arctic fox in Svalbard to musk ox,
reindeer and elk on the mainland. And in Norway's offshore waters, whales have survived
the best efforts of hunters to drive them to extinction.
Land Mammals
Arctic Fox
Once prolific throughout Arctic regions, the Arctic fox may be Norway's most endangered
land mammal. Numbers of Arctic fox have scarcely risen in the decades since it was offi-
cially protected in 1930; the species' greatest threat now comes from the encroachment of
the much larger and more abundant red fox. Børgefjell National Park, north of Rørvik and
justsouthoftheArcticCircle,ishometooneofmainlandNorway'sfewviablepopulations,
although the species survives in more substantial numbers in Svalbard. A small population
is believed to survive in the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park in central Norway and
a tiny number have recently been reintroduced onto the Hardangervidda Plateau: Europe's
southernmost Arctic fox population.
The Arctic fox is superbly adapted to harsh winter climates and is believed capable of
surviving temperatures as low as minus 70°C thanks to its thick insulating layer of under-
fur. Almost perfectly white in winter, the Arctic fox can in summer have greyish-brown or
smoky-grey fur. In Arctic regions, it inhabits the sea ice, often cleaning up the scraps left by
polar-bear kills.
Musk Oxen & Elk
After being hunted to extinction in Norway almost two millennia ago, the downright pre-
historic moskus-okse (musk oxen) were reintroduced into Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella Nation-
al Park from Greenland in the 1940s and have since extended their range to the Femunds-
marka National Park near Røros. Fewer than 100 are believed to survive in the two Norwe-
gian herds, although their numbers remain more prolific in Greenland, Canada and Alaska;