Animal Kingdom in Norway

This is simply a brief informative post on animals in Norway. This topic is near and dear to my heart as the only reason I am living this dream is because of my friends pets. I'll share both facts on wild animals native to the country, and a few things I've learned regarding pet care here for cats and dogs.

I'll start first with wild animals native to the country.
According to the guide books and Norway information websites, there a myriad of mammals, birds and marine life that make up the ecosystem of Norway. Norway's National animal is the moose, only here they are called elk. There are moose safaris available for tourists in the southern part of the country, and I have seen moose crossing signs on a couple of my drives although no actual moose...yet! There are also herds of wild reindeer that roam the central area of the country and there are two small herds of musk ox that can be found in the Femundsmarka National Park a little farther north. The north is also where the occasional arctic fox can be spotted; however, they are Norway's most endangered land mammal. My guide from Kjerag said that there used to be a population of black bears and wolves, but they have been extensively hunted by sheep farms to protect their flock, and when asked he said he'd never seen either a bear or wolf out hiking. The black bears may be gone, but Norway does have a small population of polar bears that can be found in the very northern island of Svalbard. Norway does have quite a large variety of birds common to the area but I'll just mention two. The first is the country's national bird which is the Fossekall, or dipper, which dive into mountain streams for food. The second is ravens. I have seen a fair number of these black feathered birds since I arrived, but there is something very different from the ravens here and those that fly over the US, they aren't all black but instead are black and gray!

The Dipper

As three quarters of the country is surrounded by the ocean, it makes sense that marine life would be adopted into Norway's culture and customs. Whales are a big (pun intended) part of Norwegian sea life and one can see a pretty decent variety in it's waters including: humpbacks, orcas, sperm whales, blues, fins, bowheads, minkes, pilot whales, and narwhales. Norway does partake in the hunting of a limited number of minke whales each year, and whale meat is a common dish listed on restaurant menus here. Personally the Alaska and Canadian Native hunting of whales is the only type of whaling I am ok with and while the Norwegians practice of whaling is something I wouldn't debate with a local, it is something I am against so I will not try any whale meat here.

Norwegians are also known for their fish, something that becomes very obvious just walking down the seafood aisle at any grocery store. Salmon is the most common fish I've seen and according to my friend Katy, most of the salmon sold is farmed. They also farm halibut here, which is something I don't think the states have done yet (if anyone knows otherwise please let me know). Other types of common fish are cod, trout, perch, and char. Crab, shrimp, and eels are also very common.

Then there are bugs. I haven't done any research on common insects in Norway, frankly I don't want

My foot next to a slug

to, but I have a few observations and learnings to mention. One of the best is that really I haven't seen that many flying insects. There's been the occasional fly, a few gnats, but that's it. When out hiking, I feel like I'm in the woods of Alaska only without the awful mosquitos buzzing and biting and that's just plan awesome! There appears to be more ants and snails here than I do in Alaska or Maine, but less than what I've seen in Utah, and only out along the trails. There also apparently ticks with Lyme disease (my friends give both dogs meds to kill ticks) but I don't think it's as much of an issue as in Maine because I haven't seen or heard any mention of them in the hiking guides I've read. One thing Norway has that I've not seen in the states is a large population of slugs. I have of course seen slugs back home, but the ones here are giants compared to those. Brown or black, about half an in wide, and up to six inches long, they pop up everywhere the second rain begins to fall. It rains quite a bit here, so they are a frequent sight whenever one ventures outside.

Stepping away now from wildlife and moving forward into farm life and livestock. I am not sure if this is country wide, but in Stavanger and it's surrounding areas there are farms with what seems like animals to spare (I'm sure that's not actually the case). When I take my friends dog Levi out for our daily walks, my favorite view goes through a field full of milking cows affectionately referred to as "Levi's lady friends". When I wrote about Dalsnuten the fact that we walked into a farm and right by goats and sheep, and that is not an uncommon occurrence. Sheep roamed the fields, mountains and roads all throughout our drive to Kjerag. Near the end of my Lifjell hike I heard the cling clang of the sheeps bells and climbed over a ladder that bridged the fence holding those sheep in. Really just about everywhere I go in nature a sheep, or goat, or cow can be found. I like it. And I also like that this is a country where farmers are able to trust their livestock with the locals and tourists who wander through their fields. I'm not sure if that would be the case back in the US.

And then there is the beloved family pet. I think for the most part, cats and dogs are loved and treated much like they are in the states. There are few things though that are slightly different. The entire country has a very strict leash law for dogs that begins in April and lasts throughout August. I am unsure of the entirety of the reasoning behind this, but my guide from Kjerag (when asked by a member of our group why a dog was on a leash) said that one of the biggest factors is to protect the wildlife and wandering livestock. He said dogs do have a tendency to act a little wild when they see a sheep grazing or deer walking through a field, and there have been cases of the animals being injured or dying when chased or frightened by dogs. For the most part people take this seriously, I have only seen one dog off a leash since I've been here. Another difference, is that owners driving with their dogs must make sure they (the dogs not the owner) are contained within the car. This usually means that they are in their kennel or, in the case of my friends dog Levi, are in the back seat with a gate up to prevent him from jumping to the front. I think this should be adopted back in the states; it would prevent a lot of irresponsible owners from driving around with their dogs loose in the back of a pick up truck.

My favorite cats!

Cats on the other hand are basically given free reign over the land. It's actually considered mean for owners to not let their cats go in and out of the house as they please, something both of my friends cats remind me of daily, and I'm sure my Synge would completely agree. I was kind of surprised when Katy first told me this, but I was shocked when she next said that people in Norway also think that it is unkind to spay or neuter their pets. This just doesn't make any sense to me, especially if cats are allowed to roam the streets. Katy said they also don't really have animal shelters here, and while the strict leash laws prevent any issues happening with an overabundance of dogs, I foresee an issue with cats coming. Another thing they consider unkind is declawing cats and docking tails and clipping ears for dogs. This is something I can absolutely get on board with, and it is kind of fun to see curly tailed Boxers, Jack Russell Terriers, and Poodles out and about!

So, I guess this post wasn't that brief, but hopefully at least some of you found it informative!