Sunday, August 19, 2012

Norwegian Nature: Big Week for Bears


You may have noticed Norwegian bears are in the news these days. First there was the bizarre story of a family of bears that broke into a cabin in Finnmark and drank 100 bottles of beer. And then came the equally absurd story of the Norwegian motorist near Hanestad in Østerdalen, who swerved to avoid hitting a moose—and ran into a bear instead! For Norwegian bears, with an estimated population of just 150, it's been a big news week.

With all this wildlife running amuk, you might think that Norwegians would want to stay indoors, but that couldn't be further from the truth. As we highlight in the upcoming September issue of Viking, 70% of the country's population has camped or stayed in a cabin in the past year. Check out our September article on friluftsliv, a Norwegian term loosely translated as "outdoor life," and you'll learn out how Norwegians are fostering a love of the outdoors—bears and all—and teaching skills to last a lifetime to kids of all ages.

Amy Boxrud is editor of Viking magazine. She lives with her family in Northfield, Minn., where she’s a member of Nordmarka 1-585. 

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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