Hey, so I’ve been doing a little bit, like one webpage worth, of research on Iceland animals to choose a good general animal representation for my pet Icelandic. Iceland is a far away place that I know virtually nothing about, but I really love the idea of making a tribute pet. Haven’t decided on what aspect of Iceland to focus on either. I would love to be able to blend some pagan mythology into the page as well, but I’m not sure how appropriate it would be.

Currently Icelandic is a Common Jollin, that’s what he was when I adopted him, and if I stick with an artic fox concept I’ll probably make him twilight colored for the blue foxes, but maybe a brown one would be better? Devonti could work too since sheep are the most common domestic animal in the country. The national bird is the gyrfalcon, I believe and there’s also the raven with it’s mythic importance. Those are pretty much all the ideas I have for now.

you know ice :) maybe you can peek?

:) Icelandic horses are also a big thing over there-- they're the only ones in the world to have an extra gait, which is lost when bred to any other breed of horse. Also, once the horses are taken outside of Iceland, they're banished and can never come back to the country.

Other notable animals of the island are puffins, ptarmigan, goats ( Þor/Thor kept two goats-- Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr-- with him to pull his chariot and sometimes eat), Siberian Huskies, Icelandic Sheepdog, mink, rabbits, and reindeer. Also, SOMETIMES you can find a polar bear, but only because they rarely wind up on Iceland by drifting over on icebergs from Greenland. As for marine life, the waters around Iceland are home to whales, dolphins, and hundreds of species of fish. The biggest whales are the humpback (I think my husband is taking the kids and I to potentially see minke whales, humpback whales, white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises during our visit)

As far as paganism goes, the island is mostly Christian (I think Lutheran, but my husband's family is Protestant) and about 5% has gone back to "Heathenism" or Ásatrú, which is closest to their ancestors and the Norse pantheon.

^^;; Not sure how much help I am here, but hopefully I've given some ideas. :) Good luck!

Oh wow, thank you so much! I have lot of work cut out for me with this pet. It’s amazing how unique some of the animals are on Iceland. I’ll have to look into Icelandic horses, they sound fascinating!

You’ve given me so many good ideas, thank you! I hadn’t even considered looking into local marine animals. I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about walking into a polar bear where I live. NYS is better know for black bears and grizzlies, whom I also avoid with a passion.

That trip sounds lovely! I hope you and your family get to go. The pictures you’ll take, I can’t imagine. Here’s to clear weather when you’re there. Also, thank you for the tip on “Heathenism”, I didn’t realize Christianity was so prevalent (luckily, I’m more knowledgeable about Christianity then Paganism). I really need to do my research to avoid writing any stereotypes or cliches. :)

:) Anytime! I only know half the things I do because of my husband. ^^ He's always been thrilled to share his culture with me. I may not be able to speak the language well, but I can always learn about their animals and way of life. I'm very eager to see him and his parents again. :)

lol His father (an officer and one of the leaders for search and rescue) had him come help move a dead minke whale that had washed up on shore about 2 weeks ago. It was kinda amusing-- he says that the whales there aren't as impressive and a lot of people are usually let down because they come over and expect blue whales and orca. lol