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Q1 I read that the Reykjavík Zoo is expanding its seal enclosure. How many seals are kept there?

Reykjavík Family Park and Zoo is currently home to four seals: Særún (female), Svavar, Garðar, and Kópur (male). Særún is the oldest, born in 1989, while Svavar and Garðar were born in 2017 and Kópur in 2019. The three younger seals are a bit more active than Særún and are known to jump when they’re excited about something, like an upcoming meal. Særún has slowed down with age but has learned to communicate well with her keepers: she bites at the air when she wants fish. With a depth of 1.7 metres, the seals’ current pool is fairly shallow. Its volume is therefore also small, just over 100 metres cubed. The new pool, which will connect to the old one, will quadruple the total volume of the pool and will be more than four metres [13 feet] deep, allowing the seals more room for diving. Unlike the current seal facilities, the new enclosure will conform to the guidelines of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. The expansion is expected to be complete by November 2022. Most of the animals at Reykjavík Family Park and Zoo are domestic animals such as sheep and goats. Keeping seals at the park has been controversial. In 2019, Marine biologist and Reykjavík Family Park and Zoo division head Þorkell Heiðarsson argued that pups born in the enclosure should be released into the wild. Icelandic law, however, does not allow seals to be released from captivity.

Q2 I’m a musician: how can I get press coverage of my music in Iceland?

Iceland has a lively music scene, with a plethora of diverse performing and recording artists. Local media does a fine job covering new local releases and concerts, particularly the Icelandic national radio, but also local print newspapers, both in Icelandic and English. When it comes to music, Icelandic media has quite a local focus, and when international artists are covered, they are usually artists that are wellknown globally, or have a special connection with Iceland (like, for example, having lived here for many years, such as Damon Albarn or John Grant).

If you are coming to Iceland to perform, contacting local newspapers and radio is a good bet in order to get press coverage. If you’d like to know more about the local scene, you can contact Iceland Music, the music export office of Iceland. While they mostly help Iceland-based musicians to develop their careers, they also connect international musicians to the local scene. Musicians from abroad who come to record in Iceland are also eligible for a 25% refund of the costs incurred in recording in the country: more information at record.iceland.is.