Henry Rudi
Encyclopedia
Henry Rudi was a Norwegian
huntsman and polar bear hunter. His father had come from Gudbrandsdal
en, to settle in Troms
. Rudi went on a total of 40 hunting trips to the Arctic
regions, and wintered there for 25 of them. The animals that were usually hunted in these regions include arctic fox
, walrus
and seal, but Rudi is most known for having killed 713 Polar Bear
s through his years in the Arctic. Areas in which Henry Rudi spent several winters, include Svalbard
, Jan Mayen
and Greenland
. The winter of 1947, was the last time Rudi went hunting in the Arctic.
. This was also where he spent his last days. He was known for his cheerful personality and spent a lot of his retirement days in the Ølhallen (The Beerhall) in Tromsø, where he gladly spoke to everybody who would listen about his adventures in the Arctic.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
huntsman and polar bear hunter. His father had come from Gudbrandsdal
Gudbrandsdal
The Gudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Oppland. The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer at Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal...
en, to settle in Troms
Troms
or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
. Rudi went on a total of 40 hunting trips to the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
regions, and wintered there for 25 of them. The animals that were usually hunted in these regions include arctic fox
Arctic fox
The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...
, walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
and seal, but Rudi is most known for having killed 713 Polar Bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s through his years in the Arctic. Areas in which Henry Rudi spent several winters, include Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
, Jan Mayen
Jan Mayen
Jan Mayen Island is a volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean and part of the Kingdom of Norway. It is long and 373 km2 in area, partly covered by glaciers . It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by an isthmus wide...
and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. The winter of 1947, was the last time Rudi went hunting in the Arctic.
Life after the hunting
Henry Rudi grew up in the town of TromsøTromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
. This was also where he spent his last days. He was known for his cheerful personality and spent a lot of his retirement days in the Ølhallen (The Beerhall) in Tromsø, where he gladly spoke to everybody who would listen about his adventures in the Arctic.
Acknowledgements
- 1953 - Awarded with HM The King's Medal of MeritHM The King's Medal of MeritThe King's Medal of Merit is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold and silver. The medal in gold is rewarded for extraordinary achievements of importance to the...
- 1969 - Honored by the sixth formers of Tromsø to be the Honorary Sixth Former of 1969
- He has also been honored with his own permanent exhibition in the Polar Museum in Tromsø, alongside great Arctic explorers such as Roald AmundsenRoald AmundsenRoald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....
and Fridtjof NansenFridtjof NansenFridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
.