Arctic Fox Center
The Arctic Fox Center (Icelandic: Melrakkasetur ) is a research center with an attached café and an exhibition in the municipality of Súðavík in the West Fjords of Iceland . The center focuses on the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) , the only naturally occurring land mammal in Iceland. The arctic fox center was founded in 2007 by local residents. The ecotourism is particularly encouraged and the center is a non-profit partner organization One Percent for the Planet and a member of the initiative The Wild North .
The building
The exhibition and the café are housed in a house from the last decade of the 19th century . It is located in the new part of Súðavík and overlooks Álftafjörður. In recent years the house has been renovated and refurbished by the municipal administration.
The exhibition
The museum consists of two parts. The first part is devoted to the arctic fox in its natural environment and research. Several stuffed arctic foxes of white, blue and beige colors are exhibited. Trilingual posters (in Icelandic , German and English ) cover dissemination, genetics, research and reproduction. The second part of the exhibition deals with the Icelandic tradition of fox hunting. Many original objects such as traps, shotguns and additional equipment can be seen. A second room houses books with legendary hunting adventures as well as interviews and photos of hunters.
Research and volunteering
The research specializes in three areas. The interaction between tourists and foxes, the dissection and analysis of carcasses and the estimation of the population in the Westfjords.
Most observations on the population and behavior towards tourists are carried out in the Hornstrandir nature reserve , which is a popular hiking area. However, research has recently been extended to other areas of the Westfjords . Every year we are looking for volunteers to watch foxes for a few days. The goal is to implement sustainable tourism , as interest in the region and the foxes is growing steadily. Photographers in particular are particularly interested in wildlife. The first results are already available and they show that further research is needed to more accurately quantify the effect of tourists on the foxes. In addition, the Arctic Fox Center is a member of The Wild North and Iceland's first non-profit partner of One Percent for the Planet.
See also
Web links
- The Arctic Fox Center - information in German
- The Arctic Fox Center
- Melrakkasetur (in Icelandic)
- Tourist effects on the behavior of denning arctic foxes in Iceland - a pilot study
Individual evidence
- ↑ Melrakkasetur - About us . Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ↑ Melrakkasetur - About us . Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ↑ Rebecca Louder: Must-Love Foxes Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Reykjavík Grapevine . No. 12, 2010, p. 32. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ↑ The Aim of The Arctic Fox Center (in English) . Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ Fran Parnell, Brandon Presser: Iceland . Lonely Planet, 2010, ISBN 9781741044553 , pp. 188, 190 (accessed May 18, 2011).
- ↑ Ester Ruth Unnsteinsdóttir, Borgny Katrínardóttir: Tourist effects on the behavior of denning arctic foxes in Iceland - a pilot study (in English) . Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ The Wild North . Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ One Percent for the Planet . Retrieved May 19, 2011.
Coordinates: 66 ° 1 ′ 49 ″ N , 22 ° 59 ′ 27 ″ W.