Animals of Iceland Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Iceland's only truly native land mammal, Vulpes lagopus, is also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox. They are small and white (you would never have guessed that if I hadn't told you), with a dense coat that helps them survive in the arctic tundra regions where they are found around the world. They have round bodies, a common adaptation for cold weather that helps reduce heat loss through radiation. Although they are efficient hunters, in Iceland few of their usual prey (such as lemmings) are available, and they depend on seal pups, fish, and small mammals that were imported and released by humans, such as rabbits.

When the Vikings arrived in the 9th century, they brought a number of useful domesticated animals with them, which have since developed into distinctive Icelandic breeds. Iceland has a ban on importing most species of these now-native animals, keeping them disease-free, but also increasing inbreeding issues.

Icelandic sheep are stocky and short-legged, with a double coat, and breed prolifically, with twins and triplets common. Originally bred primarily for their fleece, they became the principal milk source until the middle of the 20th century (when milk from the cattle that arrived shortly after the first sheep took over in popularity), and are now more important as a source of meat than of milk. The Vikings also brought goats and horses, both of which have developed specifically Icelandic breeds. The goats are currently few in number, and have not been developed commercially - they are mostly kept as pets or a milk source for a single family.

Icelandic horses (smaller than most breeds, but Icelanders don't like to call them ponies) are very hardy, and popular internationally - there are stable populations based on exported horses in several countries of northern Europe. Originally used to ride while herding sheep, they have developed into a popular horse for leisure riding and racing. They are usually a five-gaited horse, meaning that they not only move at the traditional walk, trot and canter/gallop, they also move with a gait that resembles a running walk, called the tölt, and a fast pace (such as seen in harness racers) called the flugskeið, or flying pace.

The Icelandic sheepdog, whose ancestors arrived with the Vikings, is a spitz breed (pricked ears, a pointed muzzle, a double coat, and a tail that curves over the back) resembling the Norwegian Buhund and the Swedish Vallhund, both descended from the same ancestors.

The largest wild land mammals in Iceland are the reindeer which were first imported near the end of the 18th century from Norway. They are specifically Rangifer tarandus tarandus, the Norwegian or mountain reindeer. They were originally placed in multiple sites around Iceland, but now only survive in the eastern part of the country.

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is really only worth noting as a novelty, since they are absolutely visitors rather than residents. They arrive as tourists on rare occasions, presumably in search of a better food source than they were finding in Greenland's winter, but make their way back relatively quickly.

The Atlantic seal (Halichoerus grypus) and the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) are common in the waters off the coast of Iceland, and establish breeding colonies on offshore islands and some coastal areas. Commercial hunting of seals is banned, but the killing of seals which are seen as posing a threat to the important fishing industry is sanctioned.

Fishing is central to Iceland's lifestyle, as it is a major food source - they are one of the world's highest per capita consumers of fish. Protection of the fish population is seen as important, and in 1972 they declared an Exclusive Economic Zone larger than the usually recognised area offshore of a country, to keep other nations from exploiting the fish in that region. This led to a confrontation with the United Kingdom which is rather dramatically referred to as the Cod Wars.

There may not be many different kinds of land mammal in Iceland, but there are plenty of bird species. The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) is most commonly found in the Westman Islands, off Iceland's south coast, and Iceland's birds represent over half of the current puffin colonies. With around 5 million breeding pairs, the puffin is the most numerous bird in the country. They nest on the tops of cliffs, preferably on grassy slopes near the edge for easy takeoff and landing. The kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), on the other hand, prefers to nest in the steep cliff face. These members of the gull family get their genus name from their Icelandic name, while their name in English is onomatopoeic, reflecting their cry.