HUNTING
Th e elk, the reindeer and the red deer are the big game that
are hunted in Norway. Among other game used for food,
the hare, grouse, blackcoek, capercailzie, hazel grouse, thrush and
other small birds are snared and shot, as well as a few sea-birds
such as little auks. Certain beasts of prey are also hunted, such
as hear, wolf, lynx, glutton, and fox, as also eagle and goshawk.
A reward is offered for each ’ of these animals all oyer the
country, and in some places a reward is offered for the extermination
of martens and eagle owls. The^otter is also common, and
an object of chase, as also the badger. In connection with hunting
may also be mentioned the collecting of eggs and doum on
the islands, several of the northern islands being nesting-places,
where sea-birds nest in thousands.
On the coast a number of seals are killed, and off the coasts
whales also. (Cf. above page 370).
The hunting of all the above-named eatable animals is . pursued
partly as a minor means of subsistence by the country people,
partly as a sport by towns-people and foreigners; and all the
above-named eatable animals are the objects of both kinds of
hunting or capture.
Besides guns, traps and snares are used in the capture of
these animals, the employment of which it has been attempted to
restrict by legislation.
The elk occurs commonly in south-eastern Norway, and in
the Trondhjem district as far north as southern Helgeland.
The reindeer, which frequents the high mountains, is shot
principally in the Kristian’s and Hedemarken counties, and to
some extent in Hardanger and Yoss, and in other counties in the
west country. In northern Norway, where the Finns wander about
with their large flocks of tame reindeer, the wild reindeer is
rapidly disappearing.
The red deer occurs chiefly in Hitteren, and in small numbers
on the adjacent islands, and also on the mainland near Hitteren.
The number of head of big game shot during 1896 and 1897
is as follows:
1896 1897 1898
Elk. . . . . 991 880 902
Reindeer , . . . 942 ' 832' 951
Red deer . . . . 138 147 180
Grouse is without comparison the most important1 game in
the country. The probable number of grouse shot and snared
annually in Norway is 1,100,000. A large proportion of these
are snared, but shooting grouse over dogs is much practised, and
is a favourite sport. I t is principally the willow-grouse that is
shot, and its distribution is in a great measure dependent upon
the birch woods. Certain tracts and islands are well-known as good
grouse country, e.g., Hadsel in Vesteraalen.
Shooting hares, blackcock, capercailzie, hazel grouse, thrushes
and other small birds is general, principally in the wooded parts
of the country; but the shooting of all these animals together is
of less importance than grouse-shooting. While the weight of
the grouse shot annually is estimated at about 440 tons dead weight,
that of the other birds and hares together amounts to 260 tons.
Wild duck, woodcock and a few other birds are also shot, but
the results are not great.
In northern Norway, the sea-birds breed in colonies or upon
bird-cliffs, where they are found in enormous numbers. They sit
in long rows upon the ledges of the cliff, side by side.
The birds that breed upon the bird-rocks, and whose eggs
are collected, are the kittiwake, the puffin, the little auk, and
the guillemot. Tim large and the small cormorant also frequent
the bird-cliffs. The birds on these cliffs are caught or killed
partly for the sake of their feathers, partly for their flesh. Nets
are also used in catching them, and sometimes dogs to drag the
puffins out of the holes where they sit.
The eider-duck is valuable on account of its down. This bird
is found along the whole coast, but principally in northern Norway.