Musk-ox rutting season

Visit one of Norway's most impressive mountain areas, Dovrefjell, to witness and photograph the rutting period of a prehistoric creature, the musk-ox. These tours are perfectly timed with the first half of the rutting season, when the large males are competing for the different herds of females. Expect lots of action! Additionally, there are good chances to photograph moose in the early mornings.  

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Highlights:

• Be guided by an official National Park guide, who also is a professional photographer.

• Photograph the musk-oxen during their rutting season.

• Chance for male musk-oxen fighting.

• Opportunities for moose bulls with large antlers.

• The first autumn colors will start to appear.

• We work with small groups to guarantee the best wildlife sightings.

• Our photography outings are timed with the best light of the day. You won't be sitting in a restaurant looking at the most beautiful sunset, but you will be out in the field with the animals. 

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Please note: This tour requires a relatively good level of fitness in order to be able to participate. Expect to walk each day between 5 and 12 km through the mountains, depending on where the animals will be at the time. You need to be able to cover these distances while carrying your photo equipment plus food and drinks for the day.

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Musk-ox

Dovrefjell National park is a stunning mountain plateau, situated in central Norway and is the home of the impressive musk-ox. Currently there are about 300 musk-oxen living in the mountains of the National Park. This is the only area in Europe where you can find a population of wild musk-oxen. During the last ice-age they were wiped out from Europe. Shortly before the Second World War, Norway imported musk-oxen from Greenland and released them in the mountains of Dovrefjell. The populations slowly grew and is now fluctuating between 200 and 300 animals.   

 

Musk-oxen are not exactly known to be very active animals. They spend a lot of time feeding, ruminating and sleeping. But from late August until the start of October the musk-oxen have their rutting season. In late August the large adult males will search for and pick a herd of females and their calves. Once they have joined a herd, they will defend it against other bulls. The males will stick with the females until at least the start of October, when they are sure that all females have successfully been mated. During the first half of the rutting season, when the bulls are looking for herds of females, the chance for confrontations between males is quite big. Younger males are often chased off by the larger ones. This part of the rutting season can be packed with action. So a great time for a wildlife photographer to target this species.   

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Photographing the musk-oxen

In order to photograph the musk-oxen, we will need to hike into the mountains. Luckily, large numbers of musk-oxen will decent to lower elevations to feed on the high numbers of willows on the lower mountain plateau. This will not only make it easier for the guide to find the animals, but also for the group to reach the animals. Expect to walk each day between 5 and 12 km through the mountains, depending on where the animals will be at the time. You need to be able to cover these distances while carrying your photo equipment plus food and drinks for the day. This tour requires a relatively good level of fitness. It is not possible to enter the National Park by car, ATV or lift. 

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If the weather allows it, we plan to stay out in the mountains from noon to sunset. This allows us to be out with the animals during the best light of the day. Also, most day guided trips for the day visitors of the National Park are scheduled during the mornings. By going out around noon, we will avoid the large groups of day tourists and we will be able to have the herds of musk-oxen to ourselves.   

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Moose

In the surroundings of Dovrefjell there is a healthy population of moose. This region is known to produce moose bulls with over average large antlers. Moose are mainly active during the twilight hours. The chance to photograph these giants is the best during the early mornings. Moose are shy animals, but can be photographed from the car and the side of the roads. Our accommodation in Dovrefjell is situated right in one of the moose hot spots, so we don't need to drive far. In the end of the summer / start of the autumn, large numbers of moose congregate in this area. The landscape is dominated by open alpine birch forests, which create an astonishing setting to photograph these animals in. In the early mornings at sunrise, before breakfast, we will head out by car looking for moose. About 90 - 120 minutes after sunrise the moose will have found their resting place for the day and we head back to our accommodation for breakfast and a nice warm cup of coffee. 

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The accommodation

We will be staying in cozy mountain cabins. Each cabin has two double bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and living room. There is electricity and warm water. Wi-Fi is only available in the restaurant on location. It is possible to book a private room for an additional fee of NOK 3750,-. 

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Food and drinks

As our photo outings are timed with the best light and the peak of wildlife activity, we won't be able to eat in restaurants most of the days. Breakfasts are prepared eaten in the main cabin after the early morning moose outings. Lunch packages will be made during breakfast so that lunch can be consumed out in the field. Dinners will be cooked by the guide or provided by the restaurant on location.  

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Itinerary 

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• Day 1. You will be picked up at 14:00 at airport Oslo Gardermoen. A 4.5 hour drive will bring you to the border of Dovrefjell National Park, to our accommodation for the coming 5 nights. After having dropped our bags in our cozy mountain cabins, we head to the restaurant for a delicious dinner. Here your guide will tell you more about the upcoming days and you get the chance to get familiar with the others in the group.  

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• Day 2, 3, 4 and 5. Shortly before sunrise we will head out by car to look for moose in the surroundings of the accommodation. After the morning photography sessions, we have breakfast in our accommodation. Depending on when in the season you are visiting, a few hours of sleep is needed to compensate for the short night. Afterwards we head out into the mountains for the musk-oxen. As there will be several herds of musk-oxen in the area, we will have several options for where to photograph the musk-oxen. The options will be discussed from day to day and the group can decide which animals we will go to. ​

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• Day 6. In the early morning we will make one more excursion for the moose. After breakfast and packing our bags, it is time to travel back to Oslo Gardermoen airport. You will be dropped off earliest at 12:30

 

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Or contact us for inquiries for other dates and other questions.