Lions, Tigers, BEARS!! OH MY!



I've long wanted to see bears. 

They are few and far between in southern Finland (though they do crop up from time to time) and they unfortunately have a tendency to get shot when they appear. 

Wolves are a little more frequent, but difficult to see. There's been one lone individual in the Kirkkonummi/Siuntio area for years now. I came across it once whilst walking at Ämmäsuö, but it was a brief encounter and views were hardly spectacular.

I had long wanted to go on a bear watching trip to one of the hide companies in eastern Finland, but finding the time is always an issue, and usually this requires booking well in advance.

However, due to Corona virus, international tourism is obviously down and slots are easily available.
And so we booked for a night in early July and off we went. 

We started out with a few days in the Tohmajärvi area. Nothing special, just chilling out with a little bit of birding. 

A few brief trips out in the area produced breeding waders such as Whimbrel and Golden Plover on eastern mires, which was a great experience, and plenty of Nightsingers in the Tohmajärvi area, including an impressive ~30 Corncrake in a relatively small area, and a singing Grasshopper warbler (always scarce).



Whimbrel


Amazing to see and hear so many Corncrake scrapping in the wee hours.



Corncrake

The forests in the area were also good for Parrot Crossbills.

But then it was on to the main event.

We travelled up to Kuhmo to lodge into a hide for the night with Wildlife Finland, from 6 p.m to 8 a.m.

Within minutes a Black Kite appeared, snatching a big mouthful of the dead pig bait before making it's way off to roost for the night.



Black Kite

Barely half an hour into the stake out and the first Bear made an appearance. Absolutely incredible.















Eurasian Brown Bear - a dream fulfilled. What an amazing beast. The sound of bones crunching was simultaneously morbid and incredible.

Not long after this Bear, the first Wolf appeared.





Wolf - a young animal, brave and inquisitive, with neat fur. We nicknamed this one "Dingo" because of its orange colouration.

When I say brave....



I mean brave.

















"Dingo" - 4K video

This adult White-Tailed Eagle then droped in to steal some bait, making off with a fish to the middle of the mire.



Thief.



Shortly after this, two other wolves appeared. These were the Alphas, the male and female of the pack.









"Alpha" - the male. A warrior, proudly displaying scars from past conflicts. Pale and beautiful, with a trace of a mane. He had no problem bravely walking right up to bears and asking for scraps.




Alpha - 4K Video


Proud dad. When Alpha appeared, dingo instantly ran up to him and affectionately nuzzled into him, with he returning affection in kind. Whilst I never held such misconceptions, the mere thought that Wolves are vicious, aggressive creatures could never be maintained.



The female, which we called "The Grey" soon won my heart as the most beautiful, "Classic" Wolf of the group. 


"The Grey" - the Alpha female. With prominent nipples, she was most likely suckling pups nearby. Shier of the hides than the other two Wolves, she preferred to wander the mire, seemingly eating fresh cloudberries I think. She would disappear for long periods, presumably checking in on the den, before again appearing on the mire and occasionally initiating a bout of howling in the pack.


"The Grey" - 4K video


My lady.











Seeing this beautiful lady howling, in such a spectacular fashion and setting will be a lasting memory. 

I unfortunately didn't manage to get her on video during howling (difficult to rearrange the scope to the necessary angle) but other watchers managed some incredible footage. 

I do not believe I will ever shake the sight and sound of this beautiful lady Wolf, singing in the misty twilight. Her breath signing into the night sky. I've never seen anything so incredible.

Other Bears made appearances over the course of the night, with what we think to be 6-7 individuals.






Smiley



Eurasian Bears - 4K video


The immensity of these animals against the landscape. Somehow, simultaneously, standing out apart from it..and yet a perfect fit.




Multi-Bear action


Stand off




Those eyes.





"Ah tis yourself."





"He's behind you!"







Bears in the mist.

A fantastic experience I cannot recommend enough. We also encountered the Forrest sub-species of Reindeer in this area, which was also a lifer. Beautiful animals in a beautiful place.

Comments

  1. Sadini UpekaJuly 15, 2020 at 5:17 PM

    Wow! Amazing encounters - two great species of the wilderness right in front of you - more if you count the White-tailed Eagle. The slight mist and the field of white flowers only make it more enchanting.
    Greetings from Sri Lanka!

    ReplyDelete

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