We’re hoping the visibility is good enough for a distant glimpse
of the park’s reindeer. These animals have an important, and
unique, pedigree. Their 35,000-year-old ancestors’ bones line
grottoes in southwestern France, and 8,000 years ago their
younger relatives fed Norwegian hunters on Hardangervidda
itself. Norway is the only European country that is still home
to wild mountain reindeer. The government has committed to
safeguarding the animals in 23 areas that total 16,308 square
miles. The Hardangervidda Plateau’s part of this covers 3,141
square miles—more than twice the park’s size. Protection,
however, doesn’t necessarily mean the reindeer aren’t hunted—in
the absence of the animals’ natural predators, wolves and
wolverines, Norwegian authorities keep tight control over
reindeer numbers by permitting a hunt each autumn. This year
1,500 permits were issued with the expectation that about half
that number of animals would be taken. “There are a lot of
people who don’t believe we have that many reindeer