La faune sauvage du Groenland

Despite the dominant ice cap, Greenland's wildlife has access to a far vaster domain than humans do. Fjords are no obstacle for land mammals, birds follow their own routes through the skies above fjords, sea, and mountains, and marine animals are bound by a global ecosystem without borders. Polar bears, musk oxen, caribou, Arctic foxes, hares, eagles, ptarmigans, lemmings, and the rare Arctic wolf are all part of Greenland's land fauna.

At the junction between land and sea, home to the polar bear, this great white mammal is particularly widespread in northern and eastern Greenland, where it hunts from the sea ice, and in southern Greenland, when it comes ashore after drifting along the coast.

Greenland's birds are as varied as their names are distinctive. From small buntings, siskins, and sparrows to guillemots, puffins, terns, kittiwakes, gulls, ravens, and other well-known species, each has its own region of the country.

Whales tend to steal the show when it comes to Greenland's marine animals, and perhaps not without reason, as they are easy to spot from small expedition cruise boats. Breaching humpback whales, orcas in a hunting frenzy, and swift narwhals slipping through cracks in the sea ice are just a few examples of the whales that roam these cold waters. But the seas also hold a number of seal species, the polar bear's favorite food, and of course the walrus, which can weigh up to a tonne.