Finland- Into No Man's Land

[Treepol]

Great bear and wolf interaction - I had no idea that a couple of wolves would take on a bear.

 

The fir trees at sunrise are beautiful.

[Game Warden]

Your timing on the shot with the bear smacking the wolf was spot on.

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks! I was really pleased with that shot!

[elefromoz]

Just gorgeous, what a treat to see these beautiful creatures in such a damp, dreamy habitat. Lovely raptors too, what a trip! Very jealous indeed.

[kittykat23uk]

At this time of year, Oct they get the northern lights too and it gets dark about 1830.

[Peter Connan]

Game Warden has said just what I wanted to say!

 

Very interesting trip report with great photos, thank you.

Edited October 17, 2015 by Peter Connan

[jeremie]

WOW WOW WOW. It has ben a very productive trip!!!!!!

 

Amazing pictures. You have seen so many bears!! And wolves and wolverine!!!

[marg]

@@kittykat23uk..and no sauna?!

[Zim Girl]

@@kittykat23uk

 

Just read your entire report. Really impressed with the quality of the bear sightings and excellent wolverine pictures. The sequences of the bears and the wolves in the rain are wonderful.

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks! Still got one last night to write up. But I could probably just save time and write "ditto" as the final evening was basically a repeat of the previous night

[TonyQ]

@@kittykat23uk

Great pictures of the bear-wolf interaction!

(Ditto not allowed)

[kittykat23uk]

Day 6 13th August

Following a stunning sunrise, the morning was quiet – all the mammal activity had happened the previous night and most likely all the food was gone. There was a family of sparrowhawks flitting between the trees and causing consternation amongst the local corvid population which kept us entertained during the early hours. Finally it was time to pack up and make our way back to the road to be picked up. Back at the lodge it was time for another delicious breakfast and a relax.

Sunrise over Paradise by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Sparrowhawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr

I took advantage of the facilities on offer and shared a smoke sauna with some of the other guests. The savusauna (smoke sauna) is a special type of sauna without a chimney. Wood is burned in a particularly large stove and the smoke fills the room. When the sauna is hot enough, the fire is allowed to die and the smoke is ventilated out, although there was a sufficient amount of it remaining to make my eyes sting after a while. Savusauna represents the ancestral type of sauna, since chimneys are a later addition. More skill, effort and time (usually most of the day) are needed for the heating process and so one has to order a smoke sauna in advance. The lodge also offers standard saunas too. Showers and the lakes are available for cooling off afterwards.

After whiling away the rest of the day, it was time to have dinner and head back to Paradise. This time I was in the hide to the left, closer to the forest. I could just write "ditto" as we basically had a less soggy repeat performance of the previous night.

Food was scattered around, the ravens and hooded crows arrived along with a black kite. The bears arrived, and started to feed on the carcass.

 

raven by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

European Brown Bear and Raven by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

Soon the wolves followed and started to harass the bears.

 

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

What's that over there?

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

The wolf scavenged around the pond.

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

The wolf scavenged around the pond. Keeping one eye on the bears, the wolf seized an opportunity to steal a piece of the carcass from this bear.

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

[kittykat23uk]

More bears arrived and started to feed.

 

European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

European Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

Then there was a bit of a commotion as all four wolves reunited in the shade of the trees. The pack omega seemed to be getting a bit of a beating from her packmates and a rather bedraggled wolf emerged, tail tucked between her legs whilst the rest of the pack yelped and sparred with their tails held high.

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[jeremie]

What lens do you need to take good pictures of the scenes and portraits?

[TonyQ]

@@kittykat23uk

Those wolf shots in particular are beautiful - but then so are the bears!

(the video link tells me I need to sign in to see it)

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks both, Jeremie, I shoot Olympus- used an OMD E-M1 with a 50-200 4/3 lens and a 1.4 converter. The E-M1 has a digital teleconverter that you can apply on top of that, if you need even more range.

 

The vid should work now. Here's a second video with the wolves causing a commotion:

 

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=IyxWVUeD7so

 

And some more pics. The wolves kept close to the bears, waiting for chances to steal some scraps for themselves.

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A couple of bears got into a scrap but it was over very quickly.

[kittykat23uk]

A few more of the wolves...

 

Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Most of the pack eventually moved on, all except this one, who stuck around for quite a while longer..

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Eurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Soon it got too dark to see anything other than silhouettes.

 

Dawn over Paradise by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Kuikka Base Camp area by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Kuikka Base Camp area by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

Day 7- 14th August

 

The morning was once again quiet and it was soon time to pack up and head back to the lodge, but what a wonderful final night I'd had in Finland. I had another hearty breakfast and a little time to pack up before I was driven to the airport for my onward journey home. Finland delivered in spades and I am still craving a return to this beautiful country..

 

Kuikka Base Camp area by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Kuikka Base Camp area by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Kuikka Base Camp area by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

20150814_080932 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

THE END

[KaingU Lodge]

I have been loving this trip report and photographs and in fact my better half has been even researching the possibilities of a trip to Finland one day. I don't want to take away from your report Jo, but I am interested in your (and indeed everyones) thoughts on baiting. I have recently discussed this with guests. One guest had been to Finland to photograph bears and wolfs and thought that sooner or later there is going to be an issue with safety with wild animals associating the human presence with food He is not a shy retiring character - 25 years safari experience and now leads and organises trips. His main issue was safety and wasn't at all bothered about other aspects of it. The second bunch of guests that we were talking about Finland with stated that they would never go there due to the fact that baiting is used.

 

Personally I am pretty ambivalent about the baiting aspect, and don't imagine the safety issue is that big a deal, but I am interested in thoughts and views.

 

If this comment belongs elsewhere then I apologise.

[kittykat23uk]

@@KaingU Lodge Thank you for your comments. The question of baiting is a contentious one that could generate a lot of debate, not necessarily limited to Finland. as such i feel that a separate topic should be started on this subject and comments here should be limited to this trip and wildlife viewing in Finland. i hope that's okay?

[Atravelynn]

This is just amazing. Is it common to see the wolves and bears together as you did? I know you mentioned the website showed bears and wolves, but websites often post once-in-a-lifetime shots. Back to your baiting comments, I presume that is what has brought them into close proximity, although bears and wolves in the same region is typical.

 

You mention various hides. Were the wolverine shots taken from the caravan hide that is usually used or that closer hide that you stayed in? How many people per hide? Were some hides more advantageous than others and was there a method to assigning guests to hides? Did you use a tripod or bean bag?

 

Thanks for the background on other places you investigated. Very helpful.

 

Your "safari" started & ended with a pickup at the airport in Kajaani, right?

 

What do you think about 5 nights? It seems you saw it all. But do you think you had exceptional luck?

Edited November 8, 2015 by Atravelynn