Sweden’s nature

Large parts of Sweden, especially in the north of the country, are barely populated. There are extensive forests here that belong to the taiga. This is also called boreal (northern) coniferous forest. Especially conifers grow here. Mushrooms and berries like blueberries also sprout from the ground here. To the north the forest merges into the tundra, a treeless landscape in which only lichens, mosses and dwarf shrubs grow.

To the south, the coniferous forest changes into mixed forest and finally deciduous forest. You can even make out a border for the transition, the northern border. For example, no oaks grow north of this line.

By the way, a typical tree in Sweden is the birch. It also grows far to the north in the boreal coniferous forest, although it is a deciduous tree. In the south of Sweden, however, many forests were cut down because they wanted to gain arable land.

The Moose

Sweden is known for its many moose. The chance of seeing a moose is pretty good. Unfortunately, the moose are a great danger on the road. The pretty animals’ undoing is that they simply stop.

Several thousand accidents involving moose are counted every year. Incidentally, the elk belongs to the deer group and is their largest species. Up to the shoulder it can be 2.3 meters tall. Male moose have antlers. Moose are not in herds, but on their own.

Forest animals

Since Sweden has a lot of forest, the typical forest animals also live here. These include wild boar, roe deer and red deer, hares, foxes and badgers. Lynx, brown bears and wolves are slowly reproducing. Overall, the biodiversity in Sweden is rather small. An exception are the birds, many of which also spend the summer here as migratory birds and fly south in winter.

Animals of Lapland

In the far north, the winters are long and cold. Only certain animals like this like the reindeer, which were bred by the Sami people. Reindeer, like elk, are deer but live in herds. Lemmings and arctic foxes are also at home here. A typical bird is the spur bunting.

Lapland

Lapland is one of the historic provinces of Sweden. At the same time, Lapland is understood to mean the old settlement area of ​​the Sami (who were also called Lapp), which is much larger and today also includes parts of Norway and Finland.

Aquatic animals

The many lakes and the long coast provide a good habitat for aquatic animals. Fish come in many species, including salmon, trout, perch, carp, pike, and char. Seals also live in the sea and beavers in lakes and rivers. Unfortunately mosquitoes also like water, because only in water can they lay their eggs and the mosquito larvae develop. Because there are many lakes in Sweden, there are also many mosquitos…

Bears in Sweden

According to computergees, bears live in Sweden. And not so few. It is estimated that there are 3000 Swedish bears. Brown bears are meant here. They do not occur in the south of the country. The big predators only live north of Vänern, the largest lake in the country. The danger of meeting a bear is rather low, because the animals are shy. If you want to be on the safe side when hiking: Make some noise, preferably with a bell, or talk loudly. By the way, the bear is called Björn in Swedish.

Dangerous animals in Sweden

Are there dangerous animals in Sweden? Well not really. The bears already mentioned should be respected when hiking in northern Sweden. The probability of encountering a bear is not great, however. And that also applies to encounters with a wolf or a lynx. There are around 400 wolves in Sweden and 1,500 lynxes are represented.

The 100,000 wild boars deserve a little more caution. They are also found in southern Sweden, but are no more dangerous than ours. Moose make it to a number of 300,000. They pose the greatest danger when they are involved in a car accident. A predator that does not exist with us is the wolverine. In Sweden it occurs in the far north.

Birds in Sweden

Many rare bird species can be seen in Sweden. These include, for example, the white-tailed eagle, which occurs all year round on the Baltic coast, and in summer in parts of northern Sweden. Hen harriers and red-backed horns are even rarer.

Reptiles and amphibians

Only a few species of reptiles and amphibians are native to Sweden. They live mainly in the south, where it is warmer than the north. Eight species of frogs, four toad and two amphibian species can be found in Sweden. There are also three types of snakes and two types of lizards. The only venomous snake among them is the adder, besides which you could only meet the great snake or grass snake.