What will you see the most in Iceland: sheep and horses! And they are alwys so cute that you will want to stop and photograph them all the time. Rarer is an encounter with a polar fox, but I had a chance to see one. Attention in the post, extremely cute animals, be prepared!
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INFORMATION - POLAR FOX & ICELANDIC SHEEP
As I went to Iceland in September, it was not the best season to observe whales or penguins but I still managed to enjoy the local animal life: horses and sheep. Plus I had the chance to photograph a polar fox. Here are some information about them
INFORMATION - POLAR FOX & ICELANDIC SHEEP
Polar Fox
- The only native terrestrial mammal in Iceland
- Descendants of the ice age
- The arctic foxes are found in two colours:
- "white": completely white in winter but bi-coloured in summer, brown on the back and white on the belly.
- "blue": dark brown all year round
- Highest densitiy in the West fjords
- More information on the Arctic Fox Centre website
Icelandic Sheep
- Icelandic breed: short tail, mid-size, short-legg
- Face and legs are free of wool
- Descendants from the same stock as a Norwegian breed, they were brought to Iceland by the Vikings
- Efficient herbivores
- More information on this webpage about the Icelandic Sheep breed
Catching a glimpse of a polar fox
On the road towards Thorsmork, my Super Jeep driver and I started discussing what I had done so far in Iceland and what more I wanted to see./ We started talking animals and I asked question about polar fox. Lucky for me, he knew a place where a polar fox live around, not a pet but not fully wild. The Vatnsholt Farm is located 16 km (10 mi) from the own of Selfos and 10km South of the Urridafoss waterfall . I arrived before a filming crew which also came for the fox. Lucky me.
The fox was quite fast moving around but I got few good shots. And I saw it steal an egg and go play with it.
This is a white type fox. If you want to see a picture of one totally white, check out this Arctic Fox dedicated page
Sheep: Mostly white but sometimes black
And now let's talk sheep. Most of them were white but sometimes I could spot a black one running with its friends.
Sheep: The danger
Sheep are everywhere! Late September they gather them but before that they roam mostly freely. Below are some shots were you can see what I mean by everywhere: next to road ready to jump, under the signs or on the road! Drive carefully (check out my post about driving in Iceland)
Sheep in different Icelandic landscapes
When I say everywhere, I mean it, although I did not see any on top of the huge volcanic Hverfjall crater 🙂
I saw them in farming area (logical), in desertic area (yes, yes, there was almost no grass...), near a lake, in the middle of the central highlands.
Near Landmannalaugar, Central Highlands
Near the pseudo-craters, Lake Myvatn
Enjoying different types of fields
Want to see more of Iceland's beauty?
Discover more things to do and places to see in Iceland in my online Iceland Destination Guide.
Aren't they all cute?
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