On the trail of southern Norway’s Arctic foxes, back from the brink
- The iconic Scandinavian animal, which had disappeared from the area for two decades, is once again leaving pawprints across Hardangervidda National Park
- Feeding and breeding programmes have successfully reintroduced the species
On the edge of southern Norway’s Hardangervidda National Park, two snowmobiles plough lonely furrows across a frozen vastness, dwarfed by the pristine surroundings. Temperatures on the sprawling Hardangervidda plateau,snowbound in winter, can plunge to minus 30 degrees Celsius or below, but today the wind is light and the sun hangs low in a cloudless, cobalt sky.
Petter Braaten, a senior nature inspector and park ranger attached to the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management, halts the lead snowmobile and inspects the trail ahead. The snow is mostly deep and compacted, but lightly covered boulders can flip a snowmobile.
“You know, polar pioneers Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton all trained here,” he says, returning to his purring, brightly coloured vehicle. “With its Arctic climate and Antarctic landscapes, it’s hard to believe we’re only 200km west of Oslo.”
Today’s expedition into the park is more about conservation than exploration, but it’s not hard to imagine a procession of men and dogs traversing this icy wilderness.
Crossing a succession of frozen lakes, the convoy stops briefly in the remote village of Finse, its rust-red buildings draped in a thick mantle of snow. About 30 minutes later, the two snowmobiles reduce speed and begin climbing a gentle slope. Braaten kills his engine, signals for silence and scans the hilltop ahead with binoculars.