Created in 2002, the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park is located in Eastern Norway, 350 km north of Oslo and barely 150 km south of Trondheim.
Close to the Dovre National Park, it extends over a large part of the Dovrefjell massif.
It is the kingdom of the musk ox, which makes this territory a unique sanctuary in Europe.
Reintroduced in Norway in the 30s, then after the Second World War, the current population is between 250 and 300 musk oxen divided into several herds.
I went to the Dovrefjell Park in September, to photograph the musk oxen and I was not disappointed.
It is relatively easy to see musk oxen in Dovrefjell, or I was very lucky ^^
But I must admit that this relative easiness took away some flavor from adventure, being used to make much more efforts in order to find and approach Wildlife.
It is all another story for the elk, which will be part of a future article on the site.
F4, 1/640 sec, 500 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/500 sec, 500 mm, ISO500, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/640 sec, 500 mm, ISO640, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/640 sec, 500 mm, ISO320, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/640 sec, 500 mm, ISO320, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/500 sec, 500 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS R5
F6.3, 1/130 sec, 500 mm, ISO160, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/1250 sec, 500 mm, ISO640, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/640 sec, 500 mm, ISO160, Canon EOS R5
In the morning, along the E6 road, at sunrise, the colors and lights are magnificent. A small group of musk oxen is located near this almost flat area, which is very easy to walk.
A little more physical, but simple for the regular mountain hikers, starting from Kongsvoll, it is possible to encounter different groups of musk oxen just by taking the trails in Dovrefjell National Park.
It is recommended to keep a distance of at least 200m from the muskoxen: both for their safety and yours, as they can charge upto 60 km/h.
It seems that it is rather the solitary males that charge, but it is better to be careful.
My technique was to anticipate the movement of the herd (when it was not static of course), and to perch, if possible, on a large boulder very close to their supposed passage.
The relief allowed me to have them at about the same height as me, otherwise, it was on the ground, with them, but slightly further.
Not having any concrete experience with these potentially unpredictable animals, I took my time to observe their behavior on location.
F5, 1/1000 sec, 500 mm, ISO640, Canon EOS R5
F6.3, 1/130 sec, 500 mm, ISO160, Canon EOS R5
F5, 1/800 sec, 500 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/2500 sec, 500 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS R5
F5, 1/800 sec, 500 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS R5
F5, 1/800 sec, 500 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/800 sec, 500 mm, ISO500, Canon EOS R5
F4, 1/1250 sec, 500 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS R5
F5.6, 1/1600 sec, 500 mm, ISO500, Canon EOS R5
Hiking through the great plains, bogs and rocky peaks with autumn colors in Dovrefjell is truly an incredible experience.
You don’t have to walk for hours in the vast wilderness to see muskox, but there are some precautions to take depending on how far away you are to photograph them.
I hope that you enjoyed these pictures of Musk Ox in Dovrefjell, in Norway, and they made you want to come to see them with your own eyes, during a respectful visit to this national park.
