No no, they are. But they're not allowed to ever come back.

It's because if they go slightly South, they melt.

Birds in the rest of the world actually bother to learn the lyrics.

Best we can do is hummingbird moths.

(Pssst... don't go to Florida. It's almost certainly a trap)

I will never taste the sweat of a large gay man

Coolest critter on the planet

Idunno, penguins are pretty damn cool, pun intended..

Judging from the photo they glued their eyes shut.

Don’t be fooled by those hippy dippy nature shows. A feral train will kill you and everyone you love the moment your back is turned.

Scientists are still trying to figure out how they're related to snakes.

Not enough people outside the capital to make it worth it. They have had rail systems built but were later decommissioned. One was built for the building if a harbor but after construction it didn't get much use.

There's like 370k people in all of Iceland.

Iceland is very small. It takes about 25 hours to drive around the entire circumference of the country. That, coupled with there being a very small population in general, any train would be empty most of its running hours.

Reykjavik, Iceland biggest city, is super easy to walk. The entire thing. It takes almost no time. You don't need a train if you can get everywhere by foot.

We rented a car while there and experienced zero traffic.

Nonono you have to gather them, then you can begin the ritual.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Iceland

they used to, for certain construction projects (harbor, hydro dam). but none currently, although a passenger light rail has been proposed around their capital

Low population, heavily concentrated in one city, with little heavy industrial activity, coupled with very unforgiving terrain (steep volcanic grades) and even more unforgiving weather (severe frost heaves/thermal fluctuation, huge snow load).

there's just no economic reason to build difficult railways when your entire country is like 300mi across and never moves enough stuff in bulk to need it. including people.

Well, once at most. Which is negligible.

It's cruel to keep trains in the zoo, they need a lot of space to roam