Wildlife guidelines
Watching undisturbed wildlife in its natural environment is a great experience. To avoid disturbance, you are asked to be considerate and follow these wildlife guidelines. AECO’s Wildlife Guidelines cover walrus, seals, reindeer, Arctic fox, birds, polar bears and cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises).
AECO’s Wildlife Guidelines
AECO’s Wildlife Guidelines cover walrus, seals, reindeer, Arctic fox, birds, polar bears and cetaceans (whales and porpoises).
Arctic fox
The cunning bi-colored hunter
The Arctic fox, also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small-sized fox native to and common throughout the Arctic. It is well adapted to living in cold environments.
Birds in the Arctic
Experiencing – without disturbing – Arctic birdlife
Birdlife in the Arctic is diverse yet unique. The large numbers of birds during this period is a distinctive feature, since most bird species only spend the summer in the Arctic.
Cetaceans
Whales, dolphins and porpoises
Encounters with cetaceans are a common phenomenon in the Arctic and the number of species during the summer is around 15. The variety is great – ranging from the largest animal on the planet, the blue whale, to one of the smallest cetaceans of them all, the harbor porpoise – as well as perhaps the most peculiar of them all, the narwhal.
Polar bear
The white king of the Arctic
Polar bears can be encountered in wide-ranging areas of the Arctic. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their lives on the sea ice.
Reindeer
Antler clad herbivore of the Arctic
The reindeer, also known as caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution native to the Arctic, the Subarctic and some alpine areas. There are several sub-species of reindeer with variations in size, color and antler appearance.
Seals
True seals of the north
There are six species of true seals in the Atlantic Arctic; harbor seal, ringed seal, harp seal, hooded seal, bearded seal and grey seal.
Walrus
The tooth-walkers of the Arctic
The sight, sound – and not at least smell of a large group of walrus, is quite impressive. As the number of walrus and walrus haul-outs is increasing in some areas of the Arctic, so is the chance to see them.