Waters still full of fish
Cod, flatfish, mackerel... Norway boasts a highly varied population of cold-water fish. Salmon, trout and char are found in both rivers and the sea. In the north of the country, you'll also find fish such as perch, perch and pike that came from the Baltic via Russia.
Marine mammals
Norway is home to cetaceans (whales, dolphins, orcas) and pinnipeds (seals). Whales approach the Norwegian coast mainly during the summer, their breeding season, but cetaceans can also be seen almost all year round. While toothed whales feed on good-sized fish, squid and even seals in the case of orcas, baleen whales filter their food through their baleen plates. Twelve species of whale are currently considered endangered due to overfishing. The Norwegian government authorizes seal hunting and subsidizes it to the tune of 80% (around NOK 2.5 million, or 250,000 euros). In 2020, the quota was 18,548 specimens, and the presence of an animal welfare inspector was not mandatory. Numerous NGOs and animal protection groups are fighting for a ban on seal hunting.
Sharks
Norwegian waters are also home to the small spotted dogfish, which measures around 80 cm and lives on sand or gravel bottoms at depths of 20 m to 400 m. Also found along the Norwegian coast and in most fjords is the Greenland shark(Somniosus microcephalus), a deep-sea species that weighs over a ton, measures up to 8 meters long and is capable of living for almost three centuries! It is now classified as an endangered species.
Canis lupus
Norway is currently home to a wolf population that exceeds official targets, but the species' survival remains fragile. In 2016, a Norwegian government species regulation program planned to cull 47 wolves, despite the fact that this mammal is on the brink of extinction and the country has only around 60 wolves! The Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment finally admitted that culling 70% of the country's wolves would violate the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.
The birds
Norway is home to a huge variety of birds, with 300 of the world's 9,000 species. The west coast is a small paradise for seabirds. Many species live on the heights of the small islands along the coast, feeding and relying on fish. Since the end of the 1970s, many bird species have become extinct as a result of the over-exploitation of fish such as herring, capelin and mackerel. Among the seabirds you'll see are gannets, cormorants, common and Arctic guillemots, sea eagles, razorbills, puffins and peregrine falcons. The island of Runde (Møre and Romsdal county) is home to a large seabird colony estimated at 600,000 birds, most of which are puffins, black-legged kittiwakes and common guillemots. Northern Norway is home to Europe's largest population of white-tailed eagles. Finnmark is home to Arctic species such as the Steller's eider, king eider, great tit and red-throated pipit, as well as the hawk owl, three-toed woodpecker, thick-billed murre and grey owl.
Rangifer tarandus
Emblematic of Norway, reindeer settled on the tundra plateaus at the end of the Ice Age. With their long, full coats, short tails and snouts, and splayed hooves for walking on soft ground and snow, reindeer have adapted perfectly to their environment. They use their hooves to find food under the snow in winter. Excellent swimmers, reindeer also use their hooves as paddles. In the polar regions, reindeer eyes adapt to the changing light conditions of the seasons: golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter. Unlike other cervids, both males and females have antlers. These are vascularized bony organs covered with velvet (which provides protection, innervation and vascularization). This integumentary tissue falls off when bone growth is complete and the rutting period begins, at the end of which the antlers detach from the skull (early winter for males, spring for females). Then the cycle starts all over again, with new antlers sprouting, which is unique to deer antlers! The reindeer is a migratory animal with a remarkable ability to adapt to climate and limited food resources, which has enabled it to live alongside the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros! It feeds mainly on lichens, but also on plants, bushes and grass. In winter, it survives largely on reserves built up during the summer. With a top speed of around 80 km/h, a healthy reindeer can outrun its main predators: wolves and brown, black and polar bears. The female can bring forward or delay the birth of the calf (usually in June), depending on weather conditions! The Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway is home to the smallest of nine reindeer subspecies, Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus . Like all animals, reindeer are affected by global warming and man-made disasters such as Chernobyl: lichens and fungi are very good at absorbing radioactive caesium, so reindeer milk became radioactive and harmful to the whole species and to the humans who eat its flesh, leading to the slaughter of thousands of animals. The relationship between reindeer and man dates back to prehistoric times, and more precisely probably to the Upper Paleolithic, as evidenced by reindeer antler drills and rock engravings. Reindeer domestication in Norway began with the Saami people, who still practice it today, and there are also numerous reindeer herds.
The flora
Because of Norway's latitude, flowers, berries and mushrooms can be found along the water's edge, whereas in France they grow in the mountains. The mountains make up three quarters of the country's territory and are covered by forests, which cover a large part of Norway and are mainly made up of pines, deciduous trees (birch) and spruces (fir). Favored by this humidity, vegetation adapts according to temperature and light. Above the vast domain of the great pine and fir forests, the birches rise in altitude to give way to the alpine zone. These boreal forests dominate most of the country. In the far north, the tundra spreads its carpet of moss and lichen among arctic birch and dwarf willow. Similar to moorland, often marshy, the tundra is covered with a vegetation of mosses, heathers and bilberries, which becomes lighter and lighter until the eternal snows. In the east and center of the country, fir forests dominate. Norway's flora is closely linked to its climate. In the mild, snow-free west of the country, for example, moors of purple heather and holly thrive. Pine dominates throughout the country, resisting long periods of cold. From the south of the country to Trondheim, you'll also find oak, lime, maple, hazel and elm. In the north, you'll find even hardier deciduous trees such as birch, mountain ash and alder. In the mountains, certain flower species are reminiscent of those found in the Alps, such as glacier buttercup. Many plants found in Norway are found nowhere else but in Canada, and several varieties of American plants grow in two specific locations in northern and southern Norway.
