Country

Animals of Faroe Islands

290 species

The Faroe Islands are a North Atlantic archipelago and island country located 320 kilometres north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway between Norway and Iceland, Like Greenland. The islands have a total area of about 1,400 square kilometres with a population of 53,752 as of February 2022.

The bird fauna of the Faroe Islands is dominated by seabirds and birds attracted to open land such as heather, probably because of the lack of woodland and other suitable habitats. Many species have developed special Faroese sub-species: common eider, Common starling, Eurasian wren, common murre, and black guillemot. The pied raven, a color morph of the North Atlantic subspecies of the common raven, was endemic to the Faroe Islands, but now has become extinct.

Only a few species of wild land mammals are found in the Faroe Islands today, all introduced by humans. Three species are thriving on the islands today: mountain hare, brown rat, and the house mouse, Apart from these, there is a local domestic sheep breed, the Faroe sheep, and there once was a variety of feral sheep, which survived on Lítla Dímun until the mid-nineteenth century.

Grey seals are common around the shorelines. Several species of cetacea live in the waters around the Faroe Islands. Best known are the long-finned pilot whales, which still are hunted by the islanders in accordance with longstanding local tradition. Orcas are regular visitors around the islands.

The domestic animals of the Faroe Islands are a result of 1,200 years of isolated breeding. As a result, many of the islands' domestic animals are found nowhere else in the world. Faroese domestic breeds include Faroe pony, Faroe cow, Faroe sheep, Faroese goose, and Faroese duck.

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The Faroe Islands are a North Atlantic archipelago and island country located 320 kilometres north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway between Norway and Iceland, Like Greenland. The islands have a total area of about 1,400 square kilometres with a population of 53,752 as of February 2022.

The bird fauna of the Faroe Islands is dominated by seabirds and birds attracted to open land such as heather, probably because of the lack of woodland and other suitable habitats. Many species have developed special Faroese sub-species: common eider, Common starling, Eurasian wren, common murre, and black guillemot. The pied raven, a color morph of the North Atlantic subspecies of the common raven, was endemic to the Faroe Islands, but now has become extinct.

Only a few species of wild land mammals are found in the Faroe Islands today, all introduced by humans. Three species are thriving on the islands today: mountain hare, brown rat, and the house mouse, Apart from these, there is a local domestic sheep breed, the Faroe sheep, and there once was a variety of feral sheep, which survived on Lítla Dímun until the mid-nineteenth century.

Grey seals are common around the shorelines. Several species of cetacea live in the waters around the Faroe Islands. Best known are the long-finned pilot whales, which still are hunted by the islanders in accordance with longstanding local tradition. Orcas are regular visitors around the islands.

The domestic animals of the Faroe Islands are a result of 1,200 years of isolated breeding. As a result, many of the islands' domestic animals are found nowhere else in the world. Faroese domestic breeds include Faroe pony, Faroe cow, Faroe sheep, Faroese goose, and Faroese duck.

show less