Nordens Ark, on the Swedish west coast, is a private, non-profit foundation focusing on conservation, rearing, and research of endangered animals. Their zoo houses roughly 80 animal species from around the world, ranging from insects, frogs and birds to reindeer, wolves and cats large and small.

From Smogen, we travelled to the head of Abyfjorden and ran the tender in to visit the zoo. We really enjoyed the zoo, especially the big cats, and particularly the endangered Endangered Amur Tiger, the largest cat in the world, and the incredibly cute Persian leopard cub, born two months earlier at Nordens Ark.

Below are trip highlights from Sept 16,2019 at Nordens Ark on the west coast of Sweden. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

Cable Ferry Position: 58°21.63’N, 11°20.24’E Passing the Tullboden-Malmon cable ferry en route to Nordens Ark at the head of Abyfjorden.

Cliffs Position: 58°25.24’N, 11°25.49’E Abyfjorden cliffs aglow in the morning sun.

Breakfast Position: 58°26.18’N, 11°26.12’E Breakfast in the cockpit at our anchorage near the head of Abyfjorden.

Tender Position: 58°26.46’N, 11°26.35’E The tender tied off at the Nordens Ark dock.

Amur Tiger Position: 58°26.46’N, 11°26.09’E Endangered Amur Tiger (previously called Siberian Tiger) at the Nordens Ark Zoo.

Close-Up Position: 58°26.45’N, 11°26.11’E A close-up of the Amur Tiger. We were lucky it spent a fair deal of time by the viewing window when we were there.

Full View Position: 58°26.45’N, 11°26.11’E What a beautiful animal.

Big Paws Position: 58°26.45’N, 11°26.10’E The Amur Tiger is the largest cat in the world and has the paws to prove it.

Paw Prints Position: 58°26.45’N, 11°26.11’E When James walked into the viewing window the Amur tiger charged and slammed its paws high up into the glass. We were so startled we didn’t get a picture, but you can see the paw prints it left on the glass. We’re not sure what Siberian animal James resembles, but whatever it is must be tasty.

Big Teeth Position: 58°26.45’N, 11°26.10’E .

King of the Hill Position: 58°26.45’N, 11°26.10’E The Amur Tiger is just over 10ft (3m) long and weighs about 650lbs (300 kg).

Resting Position: 58°26.45’N, 11°26.10’E We spent ages watching the beautiful Amur Tiger, but eventually had to tear ourselves away to see the rest of the zoo.

Boardwalk Position: 58°26.41’N, 11°26.16’E Elevated boardwalks throughout Nordens Ark provide great views to the animals.

White-Backed Woodpecker Position: 58°26.39’N, 11°26.03’E A critically endangered White-Backed Woodpecker. Nordens Ark has successfully bred these birds and annually releases young woodpeckers into the wild.

Tadjik Markhor Position: 58°26.36’N, 11°26.00’E Screw-shaped antlers of the near-threatened Tadjik Markhor.

Eurasian Eagle Owl Position: 58°26.32’N, 11°25.96’E A Eurasian Eagle Owl, the world’s largest owl.

Snow Leopard Position: 58°26.24’N, 11°25.88’E An endangered snow leopard keeping an eye on us.

Cleaning Position: 58°26.24’N, 11°25.88’E Snow Leopard cleaning.

Amur Leopard Position: 58°26.24’N, 11°25.88’E A critically-endangered Amur Leopard is the world’s most endangered cat, long hunted for its beautiful fur.

Urial Position: 58°26.23’N, 11°25.87’E Curved horns on a male Urial ram. The species is listed as vulnerable.

Persian Leopard Position: 58°26.24’N, 11°25.74’E An endangered Persian leopard.

Persian Leopard Cub Position: 58°26.29’N, 11°25.76’E An incredibly cute two-month-old Persian leopard cub born at Nordens Ark. Those big paws give an indication that it has a lot of growing yet to do.

Mom Cleaning Position: 58°26.29’N, 11°25.76’E The mother Persian leopard cleaning her cub.

Mother Persian Leopard Position: 58°26.26’N, 11°25.76’E Mom keeping a close eye on us as we watch her and the cub.

Pallas Cat Position: 58°26.30’N, 11°25.75’E The near-threatened Pallas Cat lives in the central Asia, where winter temperatures can drop to -58F (-50C).

Raised Boardwalk Position: 58°26.22’N, 11°25.71’E We loved the raised boardwalks throughout Nordens Ark. The zoo is beautifully built.

Wolf Position: 58°26.16’N, 11°25.58’E A lone wolf relaxing in the grass.

Reindeer Position: 58°26.12’N, 11°25.62’E A reindeer with a large set of antlers.

Scottish Wildcat Position: 58°26.10’N, 11°25.73’E The biggest threat to the Scottish wildcat is interbreeding with domestic cats. The offspring are fertile, spreading domestic cat genes into the wildcat population.

Wolverine Position: 58°26.08’N, 11°25.81’E .

Dirona Position: 58°26.09’N, 11°25.82’E View to Dirona at anchor from Nordens Ark.

River Otter Position: 58°26.17’N, 11°25.78’E A near-threatened river otter.

Wet Otter Position: 58°26.17’N, 11°25.78’E .

Wetlands Position: 58°26.22’N, 11°25.68’E Nordens Ark has an extensive wetlands area that is home to a variety of threatened bird species.

Great Grey Owl Position: 58°26.37’N, 11°25.84’E Sleeping Great Grey Owl.

Przewalskis Wild Horse Position: 58°26.37’N, 11°25.84’E An endangered Przewalskis Wild Horse, the only surviving wild horse breed that has never been domesticated by man.

Dohle Position: 58°26.42’N, 11°25.89’E The Dohle, or Asian wild dog is Asia’s most endangered predator, more so than tigers and snow leopards.

European Bison Position: 58°26.43’N, 11°25.90’E .

Red Panda Position: 58°26.44’N, 11°26.01’E An endangered Red Panda sleeping high up in the tree branches.

Abyfjorden Position: 58°26.23’N, 11°26.03’E Dirona anchored near the head of Abyfjorden. We’d come mainly to visit Nordens Ark, but it turned out to be a lovely anchorage as well. We enjoyed our stop there.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.