Franz Josef Land and snow bunting. Some ivory gulls, little auks and Brünnich's guillemots opt to spend the winter on the islands. The polar bear population of Franz Josef Land lies within the Barents Sea subpopulation, which also includes polar bears inhabiting Svalbard and the western coast of Novaya Zemlya. In 2004, the Barents Sea subpopulation was estimated at 2,650. There is also a population of Arctic fox, which typically have their territories near seabird habitats. Being declared as a marine mammal sanctuary, the island has rich biodiversity of rare marine mammals. Three species of seals habit the archipelago. Harp seal is the
Apostolic Vicariate of the Comoros Archipelago Apostolic Vicariate of the Comoros Archipelago The Apostolic Vicariate of the Comoros Archipelago is a tiny Latin apostolic vicariate (missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction) of the Roman Catholic Church in the Indian Ocean between insular Madagascar and continental Africa, comprising the Comoros and Mayotte, with a church in each. The see is at Moroni, Comoros on Grande Comore island. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province. On 5 June 1975, the Holy See established an Apostolic Administration of Comoros on the present territory, which was split from the Diocese of Ambanja (on Madagascar),