Animals in Greenland
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus
The polar bear is the national animal of Greenland and stands on its coat of arms, adopted in 1985, as a symbol of the land and of the Inuit hunters who share it. It is the largest land carnivore on Earth, and a big male can weigh more than 500 kilograms. It hunts seals along the edge of the sea ice, mostly on the east coast and in the northwest, and a survey published in 2026 estimated about 2,275 bears in East Greenland alone. Hunting is allowed only for local hunters, under quotas.
View details→Wildlife in Greenland
Greenland is the largest island in the world, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and an ice sheet up to about 3 kilometers thick covers about 80 percent of it. Only around 56,000 people live there, almost all in small towns along the coast, most of them Inuit, and there are no roads between towns: people travel by boat, plane, snowmobile or dog sled. The climate is Arctic, with long, dark winters, short cool summers and weeks of midnight sun in the north. With the interior buried under ice, nearly all wildlife lives on the narrow strip of rocky tundra along the coast and in the rich, cold sea around it. On the tundra, musk oxen graze in herds and reindeer feed on lichen in the west, while arctic foxes, arctic hares and arctic wolves cope with the cold. Gyrfalcons and white tailed eagles nest on the cliffs, and puffins on coastal rocks. The sea is where most of the life is: polar bears hunt seals on the ice, walruses rest on floes, and narwhals, belugas, humpback whales and orcas follow the fjords and the edge of the ice.
People and wildlife have lived together here for thousands of years. Inuit hunters have depended on seals, whales and reindeer since they first arrived, and the hunting landscape of Aasivissuit Nipisat, between the ice and the sea, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018, as did the Ilulissat Icefjord in 2004. In 1974 Greenland created Northeast Greenland National Park, the largest national park in the world and a refuge for musk oxen, polar bears and walruses.
Tourism is small and centered on nature. Visitors sail among the icebergs of Ilulissat, watch humpback whales in Disko Bay and near Nuuk in summer, look for musk oxen near Kangerlussuaq and travel by dog sled in winter.
Most Dangerous Animals in Greenland
Greenland has few dangerous animals, but the ones it has demand respect. Bears are the most serious risk: on the sea ice and along the coasts of the east and north they may see people as prey, so travelers outside town in those areas go with armed guides, and many locals carry a rifle and flares. Bears are rare near the main towns of the west. Walruses can weigh more than 1,000 kilograms and may damage a small boat if they feel cornered, and their tusks are dangerous in the water. Musk oxen look slow but charge if approached too closely, especially bulls during the autumn rut, so guides keep visitors well away from them.
Wolves avoid people, and orcas hunt in the surrounding waters without being a threat to humans. In practice, the cold, the sea and the weather are bigger dangers than any animal, so trips should always be planned with local guides. The basic rules are simple: never travel alone in bear country, keep your distance from all wildlife and never come between an animal and its escape route.
Top 10 Animals in Greenland
Greenland's best known animals are spread along a huge coastline, and most of them are seen from a boat or on guided trips. Polar bears are most common along the east coast and in the far northwest, and they are rare near the main towns of the west, so seeing one usually means an expedition cruise or a trip to places like Ittoqqortoormiit. Walruses rest on ice floes and beaches in the northeast and northwest, especially inside Northeast Greenland National Park. Belugas travel in pods along the west coast in winter and spring, and orcas hunt in the fjords and offshore, more often in recent years as the sea ice retreats. On land, reindeer graze the tundra of west Greenland, arctic foxes turn up around towns and camps, and arctic wolves roam the remote north and northeast, where very few people go. White tailed eagles nest in the fjords of the southwest, the only place in North America where they breed, while peregrine falcons hunt along the cliffs of the west in summer. Puffins nest in small colonies on islands along the coast.
Arctic Wolf
Canis lupus arctos
The Arctic wolf lives in the remote northern and northeastern parts of Greenland, making it one of the hardest animals to spot in the wild. It hunts in packs, targeting muskoxen and Arctic hares across the open tundra. Its thick white coat blends into the snow and shields it from extreme cold. Every wolf in Greenland is one of these: the island has no other wolf population, and they have had so little contact with people that they remain largely undisturbed.
Reindeer
Rangifer tarandus
Greenland has native wild caribou on the ice free tundra of the west, where the Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut area holds the largest herd. Their numbers rise and fall over the decades, from a few thousand in the early 1990s to well over 100,000 in the 2000s. Greenlanders hunt them for meat and hides under a quota system, and domestic reindeer brought from Norway in 1952 are also kept near Nuuk. Arctic wolves are rare here. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Arctic Fox
Vulpes lagopus
The arctic fox lives all around the ice free coasts of Greenland, from the south to Peary Land in the far north, one of the northernmost places any land mammal lives. Both white and blue foxes occur, and blue ones are common on the coasts. Foxes hunt lemmings in the northeast and live on seabirds, eggs and seal remains elsewhere, and they often visit settlements. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Arctic Hare
Lepus arcticus
The arctic hare lives on the ice free coasts of Greenland, from the far north down the east and west sides, wherever arctic willow and other tundra plants grow between the rocks. In most of Greenland its coat stays white all year. It is regular prey for arctic wolves, arctic foxes and gyrfalcons, and Greenlanders have long hunted it for meat and fur. It does not hibernate and stays active through the polar night. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Musk Ox
Ovibos moschatus
Greenland is one of the musk ox's ancestral homes, where herds have roamed since the Ice Age. The native animals live in the north and northeast, much of it inside Northeast Greenland National Park, the largest national park on Earth. In the west, 27 calves released near Kangerlussuaq in the 1960s founded a herd of thousands, and today it is one of the easiest places in the world to see musk oxen. IUCN status: Least Concern.
White tailed Eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla
Greenland has a resident breeding population of 150 to 200 pairs of white tailed eagles, found along the fjords of the southwest, where the summers are long enough to raise chicks. They nest on rocky cliffs and feed on fish, seabirds and marine carrion. Greenland's eagles are the largest of the species. The population was never wiped out here, unlike in much of Europe. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Puffin
Fratercula arctica
Puffins are found along the coasts of southwestern and western Greenland, where cold, nutrient-rich waters support the fish they depend on. They are part of the broader seabird community that thrives in Greenlandic coastal ecosystems. As Arctic waters warm at an accelerated pace, prey fish are shifting in distribution, which poses a growing challenge for puffin colonies in the region. The species is considered Vulnerable worldwide.
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
The white wagtail is a summer breeder in Greenland, mostly in the southeast and east around Tasiilaq, with smaller numbers in the south. It nests in rock crevices and in buildings in settlements, and feeds on insects along the shore and on bare ground near houses. In autumn these birds make a long flight across the North Atlantic, via Iceland and Britain, to winter in West Africa. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
Greenland is one of the northernmost breeding places of the peregrine falcon, which nests on cliffs along the ice free coasts in summer, especially in the south and west. Here it hunts seabirds, ptarmigan and songbirds during the long Arctic days. In autumn Greenland's peregrines make one of the longest migrations of any falcon, flying thousands of kilometers to winter as far south as South America. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
Gyrfalcon
Falco rusticolus
Greenland is home to one of the largest gyrfalcon populations in the world, and many of its birds are white, the morph falconers once prized above all. Pairs nest on cliff ledges along the ice free coasts, both on the west side and in the far north and east, hunting ptarmigan, seabirds and Arctic hares. Some birds spend the winter hunting along the coast and even over the sea ice. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
Greenland is a summer feeding ground for North Atlantic humpbacks. From about June to September they feed in the fjords and bays of the west coast, and Disko Bay near Ilulissat, where whales swim among icebergs, and the fjord of Nuuk are the best known places to see them. In winter these whales travel thousands of kilometers south to breed in the Caribbean, off the Dominican Republic. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Orca
Orcinus orca
Greenland's orcas are seen mostly in summer, when they follow seals, fish and narwhals along the coast, especially in the southeast around Tasiilaq and in the south. As the sea ice shrinks, they reach the inner fjords far more often than before: hunters in Tasiilaq say they used to see them once a season and now meet them every year. Greenlanders have long hunted orcas, and their arrival in narwhal areas is closely followed by scientists. IUCN status: Data Deficient.
Beluga Whale
Delphinapterus leucas
Belugas spend the winter along the west coast of Greenland, in the open water between the sea ice of Baffin Bay, and move north and west to Canadian waters in summer. They are part of Inuit life and food, and a hunt under quotas set by the Greenland government continues today. West Greenland is also where the narluga, a rare hybrid of beluga and narwhal, was found. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus
Greenland has polar bears on both coasts, hunting ringed and bearded seals on the sea ice and in the fjords, and the remote northeast is among the wildest bear country left. In 2022 scientists described a separate group in Southeast Greenland, a few hundred bears that survive with little sea ice by hunting from chunks of glacier ice in the fjords. Inuit communities hunt polar bears under quotas, a tradition that goes back thousands of years. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Walrus
Odobenus rosmarus
Greenland has Atlantic walruses on both coasts. In the west, they winter in the North Water and off central West Greenland and summer around northwest Greenland, while in the east they live in the fjords and ice of Northeast Greenland National Park, the largest national park in the world. Inuit hunters have taken walruses for food and ivory for centuries, and today the hunt is regulated with quotas. Shrinking sea ice is changing where they can rest and feed. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Harbor Seal
Phoca vitulina
The harbor seal is the rarest seal in Greenland. It lives in a few fjords of the southwest and the southeast, and a long history of hunting left fewer than 1,000 animals in the 2000s, about a third of the 1950s population. The group at Kangerlussuaq was estimated at only about 270 seals in 2016. It is the only species listed as Critically Endangered on Greenland's red list and is protected all year. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Narwhal
Monodon monoceros
Greenland is the other great home of the narwhal. In the west, narwhals spend the summer in Melville Bay and the fjords of Inglefield Bredning near Qaanaaq, and the winter far offshore in Baffin Bay, while a separate East Greenland population uses fjords such as Scoresby Sund. Greenlandic Inuit have hunted them for food and ivory for centuries, today under quotas, and some East Greenland groups have declined enough to worry scientists. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Frequently Asked Questions
What animals live in Greenland?
Greenland's land animals include polar bears, musk oxen, reindeer, arctic wolves, arctic foxes and arctic hares. Its birds include white tailed eagles, gyrfalcons and puffins. In the sea live narwhals, belugas, humpback whales, orcas, walruses and several kinds of seal. There are no trees over most of the island and no reptiles or amphibians at all, because an ice sheet covers about 80 percent of the land and everything lives on the coastal strip or in the water.
What is the national animal of Greenland?
The national animal of Greenland is the polar bear, which appears on the coat of arms adopted in 1985. It is the largest land carnivore in the world: a big male can weigh more than 500 kilograms and stand about 3 meters tall on its hind legs. Polar bears live mostly along the east coast and in the northwest, and a survey published in 2026 estimated about 2,275 bears in East Greenland alone. They are hunted only by local hunters under a quota system, and the skin and meat are still used in Greenlandic communities.
Are there polar bears in Greenland?
Yes. Polar bears live along much of Greenland's coast, in several populations, and they are most common on the east coast and in the northwest, around Qaanaaq and Ittoqqortoormiit. A survey published in 2026 estimated about 2,275 bears in East Greenland alone. They are rare near the main towns of the west, such as Nuuk or Ilulissat. Scientists have also found a group in the southeast that hunts from pieces of glacier ice instead of sea ice, which may matter as the Arctic warms. Anyone traveling outside town in bear country carries a rifle, and tours go with armed guides.
What whales live in Greenland?
Greenland has some of the best whale watching in the Arctic, with more than a dozen kinds of whale in its waters. The most famous is the narwhal, the unicorn of the sea, whose males carry a twisted tusk up to 3 meters long; it lives in the north and east, around Qaanaaq and Scoresby Sund. Belugas, all white and very social, travel in pods along the west coast in winter. Humpback whales feed in Disko Bay and near Nuuk in summer, when boat trips leave almost every day, and orcas are seen offshore and in the fjords.
Where can you see musk oxen and reindeer in Greenland?
Kangerlussuaq, in west Greenland, is the easiest place in the world to see musk oxen: 27 animals were released there in the 1960s and the herd has thrived on the grassy plains near the airport. The largest populations, though, live in the north and northeast. Musk oxen are survivors of the ice age, with a double coat whose inner wool, called qiviut, is one of the warmest fibers there is. Reindeer graze the tundra of west Greenland and are hunted by Greenlanders in August and September.
Researched and written by Juan Pablo. Sources: IUCN Red List, scientific literature and regional field guides. Last updated: .