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Are there dangerous animals in Norway?

Large predators, polar bears on Svalbard, venomous animals and ticks.

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Short answer

Norway has few dangerous animals: brown bears and wolves live on the mainland but very rarely hurt people, while polar bears on Svalbard are a real danger. The adder is the only venomous snake. Ticks can spread Lyme disease, and moose and deer cause many collisions on roads and railways.

Are there wolves and bears in Norway? a shield icon with a check mark next to a tent and a small no-campfire sign on a green hillside

Why

  1. The Norwegian Environment Agency says the risk of being injured by a bear is vanishingly small, and a review of media reports from 1976–2012 found only two such incidents in Norway.
  2. A 2016 article in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association concludes that probably no one has been killed by a wolf in Norway since 28 December 1800.
  3. The Governor of Svalbard requires everyone travelling outside the settlements to carry a means of scaring off polar bears and also recommends carrying a firearm.

Details

Rovdata found at least 185 brown bears in Norway in 2025, mostly near the borders with Sweden, Finland and Russia, and 55–58 wolves in winter 2025–2026. Lynx and wolverines also live in Norway and mainly hunt deer, reindeer and, in summer, sheep. A bear is most likely to attack when a female protects her cubs, when it is wounded or when it is eating at a carcass. Ticks are common along the coast from Østfold to Brønnøysund, and an adder bite can cause anything from no poisoning to serious poisoning.

Tip

If you meet a bear, stay calm, talk in a normal voice and back away slowly; do not run, since that can trigger its hunting instinct.

What may differ

On Svalbard the risk is different: polar bears can turn up anywhere, all year round, and people have been killed and injured by them in recent decades. It is prohibited to seek out, stalk or disturb polar bears.

Common misconception

A bear that rises on its hind legs is about to attack.

What actually happens

The Norwegian Environment Agency calls this a well-established myth: a bear standing on its hind legs is not a sign of aggression.

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Sources

Information checked on 15 October 2026.

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