Over a century ago, when Norway was still in union with Sweden, a strong wind of exploration and a wish of independence blew over Norway. Strong minded and brave Norwegian polar heroes challenged the harshest conditions known on earth, for the sake of science, exploration and fame. By challenging the coldest places on earth they were also heating the growing nationalism in their country. Today, snow, polar bears and Aurora borealis, still plays an important part of the nationalistic identity of Norway. What is less known is the story of the Norwegian tropical explorers from the same period, whose achievements strangely has ended up in the shadows in comparison to the polar heroes. Here I aim to shed some light on three quite unknown men, Jacob Iversen, and the two brothers Hans and Andreas Kamstrup and their remarkable experiences while hunting and collecting exotic animals for the Zoological Museum in Christiania. I will also highlight the deeper political objectives behind the construction of an extensive museum collection that had the ambition to also include exotic tropical animals. Putting it lightly one may say that these men were “hunting for an independent Norway”. To understand more about this process, one has to look a couple of hundred years back in history, long before museums were established. Biological collections, could be enjoyed either at menageries, were alive animals were at display, or samples might be exhibited in “cabinets of curiosity” often belonging to kings and nobles. In these settings the sole purpose of a collection where to “show off” the owners own social position in society. However, when museums were established in the 19th century, the aim with biological collections shifted from solely being for entertainment to becoming essential for educational and scientific purposes. Although the aim of a collection was transformed through history, the status still remained. It was no longer solely executed by “the few and wealthy”, but by the entire nation. In Norway, this nationalistic status was used to finally break free from their union with Sweden.