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Where can you see an Arctic fox in Norway?

Wild Arctic foxes on the mainland and Svalbard, and parks that keep them.

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Short answer

You can see wild Arctic foxes in Norway's high mountains, from Hardangervidda to the Varanger peninsula, and on Svalbard, where they live almost everywhere. The Arctic fox is one of Norway's most threatened mammals, with an estimated 309 adults on the mainland in 2025. Polar Park in Bardu and Langedrag Naturpark keep Arctic foxes you can see up close.

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Why

  1. Miljødirektoratet says the Arctic fox has been protected since 1930, is listed as endangered on the 2021 Red List and numbered 290–350 adults on the mainland in 2023–2025.
  2. In 2025, 38 litters were recorded in Norway: ten on Hardangervidda and at Finse, four in Reinheimen and Snøhetta, eight in Central Norway, six in Nordland and ten in Indre Troms, Reisa Nord and on the Varanger peninsula.
  3. The Norwegian Polar Institute says Arctic foxes occur almost everywhere on Svalbard, from high mountain ridges to the coast and even on drift ice.

Details

A breeding station in Oppdal, set up in 2005, breeds foxes for release, and 521 foxes were released from 2006 to 2025. Polar Park offers an Arctic fox visit, and at Langedrag the weekend and holiday programme includes a visit to the foxes after the 14:00 feeding of wolves and lynx.

Tip

If you come across an Arctic fox den, keep at least 300 metres away, especially from May to July, and never feed the foxes to get a photo.

What may differ

On Svalbard, foxes can carry the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, which can be fatal to humans, so the Norwegian Polar Institute advises handling fox droppings only with gloves, if at all.

People also ask

  • Are there Arctic foxes in Norway?

Sources

Information checked on 20 October 2026.

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