okser in the roade

If you are outside of Oslo, you will likely see more than just måser (sea gulls).  In fact, when I lived in Oslo, well actually I lived a good 15 min. T-bane ride from the city center, I saw a hjort (deer) right outside my apartment one day-that was unexpected, but certainly pleasant.  It made me feel even more at home.  If you are anywhere by havet (the ocean), you will definitely see way more måser than you ever would want to.  Actually, hearing them is by far the worst part.  Here in Tromsø they are everywhere and they make a lot of noise, which can make it quite difficult to sleep (trying to get in the mood to go sleep when it´s light as day is hard enough!).

Anywho, there are many wild animals to be seen in Norway.  I was driving with a friend from Tromsø to his home town and I expressed that I really wanted to see an elg (moose).  I had previously only seen elg at Yellowstone.  I got lucky-literally 30 seconds later an elg crossed the road not more than 50 meters in front of us.  Needless to say, I was happy.

Since arriving in northern Norway, I have also seen sei (coalfish) and ørret (trout) when we were på fisketur, as well as an ørn (bald eagle) when we were grilling out on a friend´s deck.  I wasn´t with on this fisketur, but my friend saw small haier (sharks) swimming around his boat.  I´ve seen a hare (yes, hare) and a rev (fox) run across the road.  Oh, and I can´t forget to mention the sauer (sheep) that for some reason, like to march down the middle of the road for a while before they end up on the other side.  This has happened several times now, we´ve had to wait for every last sau to get out of the way of the car.  I remember when I was in Hordaland fylke a few years ago, we had to wait for okser (oxen) to cross the road (see pictures…)

I haven´t seen any dyr that I´m scared of yet, except a few large edderkopper (spiders), including the one I found in my tent.  Reptiles are not found in Norway, so I don´t have to worry about scorpions or lizards.  Amphibians, on the other hand, such as frosker (frogs) are found here in Norway.

I hope to continue to see both familiar and unfamiliar dyr in the wild!

we think this was a bjørnspor (bear print)