Page 74 - World of Animals - Issue #33

Explore the Earth

Meet the

bearded seal

The bearded seal is 200-360
kilograms (441-794 pounds) of fat,
whiskers and friendliness. They can
reach to 2.1 to 2.7 metres (6.11 feet to
8.10 feet) in length, and interestingly,
the females are actually larger than
the males. This earless sea mammal is
found across the Arctic Ocean to the
north of Norway and on the island
of Svalbard, but you can also meet
them in Polaria, an arctic aquarium in
Tromsø where you can walk through
underwater tunnels and see playful
bearded seals and harbour seals
swim over you.

Discover the

Arctic fox

The Arctic fox is a vision from a
fairytale – an auburn canine that
transforms into a perfectly white,
plume-tailed fox in the winter
months. There are two types
of Arctic fox, the blue variation
and the white variation. The blue
variation doesn’t shed its coat
at all and keeps its grey-brown
summer coat throughout the year.
Unfortunately, the Arctic
fox is one of Norway’s most
endangered animals. The main
reason for the ir diminishing
numbers is the red fox, who they
compete with for territory. They
have recently been reintroduced
in the Dovrefjell National Park.

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