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Finland- Into No Man's Land


kittykat23uk

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kittykat23uk

The wolf, a beautiful tan-coloured individual was one of the un-named young of the current alpha pair. Regular monitoring of wolves began in 2003 with the arrival of first alpha pair, nicknamed Pale One, male and Evil Eye, female. The pair had 9 cubs: in 2005 two, including Light Girl. In 2006, they had two including one female called The Spitz, and a male Crooked Tail and in 2007 they had five (one died). In 2007 Light Girl was seen lactating but no cubs were seen. In 2006 on August 20th Pale One was lost, presumably shot by bear hunters. Evil Eye was seen in December accompanied by her cubs The Spitz and Crooked Tail. The cubs of 2007 were presumably sired by Crooked Tail. In 2008 Evil Eye was sadly put to sleep after being found badly injured, thought to have been hit by a car. Following the death of the Alpha pair, the cubs Light Girl and Crooked Tail became the new pack alphas and produced a total of 16 cubs between 2008 and 2011. Two of which died. In 2012 no cubs were seen. The pack later split into two groups, one of which headed off elsewhere. Crooked Tail and Light Girl stayed, with two of their cubs. The pack currently numbers four individuals.

 

21920602411_bd885f7005_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

This is Crooked Tail:

 

21289793153_7b6b0cc73b_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

The wolf picked up a piece of the carcass from the baited area and settled down to feed. He was soon joined by the pack leader, Crooked Tail, a beautiful grey coloured wolf. Crooked Tail wagged his tail, but received a frosty reception from the other wolf, who was clearly more interested in eating than socializing. Loosing interest Crooked Tail went off for a wander around and a third wolf, Light Girl passed through further back. Soon after, it was time to leave the hide and head back for breakfast.

 

 

21898931392_7687c78470_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21884762316_9602345633_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21722863170_9251a255da_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21920635681_c69cf17a52_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Kittykat is everywhere, she's everywhere!

 

European Brown Bear, lovely. They were everywhere too. Wolves as well.

 

You have some ethereal scenery to go with your animals.

 

What a gorgeous location.

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@@kittykat23uk

 

Excuse my ignorance but there is a lot of inbreeding in this wolf pack. Is this normal or forced due to the low population in this area?

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@@kittykat23uk

Excellent sightings of the bears -and lovely photos - I especially like the one with the bear in the mist.

And then the wolves- beautiful animals, and I am so pleased you got to see them!

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kittykat23uk

Thanks! Well I certainly got closer here than in any other place I have been to see them. That makes three continents and four countries where I have seen wolves now.

 

@@CaroleE probably it is the low density that plays a part in the inbreeding.

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Loving this TR. You have taken some wonderful images of the wildlife and the landscaper are gorgeous.

 

Reply enjoyed the chance to watch the video of the sparring bears. The body language of the defeated bear was very interesting.

 

I am not surprised sleep eluded you somewhat on that first night with the bears outside your hide!

 

Looking forward to the next instalments.

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kittykat23uk

Thank you! All photos from this trip, aside from a few scenic shots, were taken with my new Olympus OMD E-M1. Most with my 4/3 50-200 and 1.4 converter. :)

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the wolves are beautiful, though they look slight in built than the American grey wolves.

 

does the inbreeding cause a lot of health problems for the packs through the years?

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kittykat23uk

Its difficult to judge size when you see them on their own. They are also in their summer coat which gives them a sleek appearance.

 

I am not aware of any inbreeding problems. Hunting/ accident is more of an issue for them in finland.

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I'm really enjoying your TR from this very different safari country. The bear and wolf photos are wonderful and the scenery shots are so interesting. I am intrigued by the hide set-up.

 

 

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I spent some time photographing the birds and a bank b=vole around the birds feeders.



21718158470_a7a0e680aa_b.jpgWillow tit by Jo Dale, on Flickr



21285062263_3cc4756a6a_b.jpgGreat Spotted Woodpecker by Jo Dale, on Flickr



21285093813_b1470c9aae_b.jpgBank Vole by Jo Dale, on Flickr




21285095803_411cd35be5_b.jpgBank Vole by Jo Dale, on Flickr



21915857451_2e1037d440_b.jpgBullfinch by Jo Dale, on Flickr




21894183412_6efba8bee1_b.jpgBullfinch by Jo Dale, on Flickr





The rest of the day was quiet, but I was excited for the evening because I was to go to the Caravan hide in the hope of spotting the elusive wolverine. The Caravan is so-called because the main hide is an old static caravan. This is set some way back from the baited area, but as I was the only person there that night I was advised to stay in a smaller hide which was conveniently located right in front of a rocky outcrop where the bait is put out. I waited patiently, the hide was like a sauna, but nothing came but a great spotted woodpecker, pecking at a sliver of salmon high up in the trees.







The clouds rolled in and it started to rain heavily.


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Day 5 – 12th August 2015



Just after midnight, a massive bear arrived and started feeding right outside the hide. It was so huge I thought for a moment that there must have been two bears! I got a bit concerned that there wouldn’t be any food left for the wolverine. As the night progressed another two smaller bears also turned up for the buffet, making any thought of sleep impossible.



It continued to rain until about 04:30. At this point, as it started to dry up, colours had begun to return to the scene. It was still grey and overcast, but I was hopeful that the wolverine might now decide that it was time for breakfast. Sure enough, just as I was thinking this thought, I spotted movement to my right as a rather soggy wolverine bounded into view. :D :D :D

21884247966_ea75e741d0_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21920103881_950f0aacfb_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21722347900_2dc0b4d0b5_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21920110981_48f942bd49_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21884410586_583b3e18c7_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

The wolverine scampered around sniffing out tidbits that the bears hadn’t spotted. He deftly scaled several of the pines to pick off the salmon carcasses that the bears couldn’t reach, in between settling down to crunch on the bones.

21884428676_719ec13d77_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21289514933_56f3f990c9_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21898645252_7d45cd3698_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21722802738_ceb4ed36e1_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21898517972_fb6a80ca71_b.jpgWolverine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

After a while the wolverine headed off into the forest. He (I think it was the same individual) returned a couple more times to grab further pieces of salmon, presumably to cache for later on, before he finally departed at about 06:00. To say I was ecstatic would have been an understatement!

 

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This is the first wolverine musical I have attended. Your music perfectly complements the choreography. Wolverine triumph!

 

The coloring of your photos is very different from safari in Africa shots and really depicts the mood of the region. Beautiful collection.

 

Airline bookings into Finland from around the world are going to spike from readers of this report!

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wow! great showing from the wolverine. funny how they look more like bears than wolves, but they remind me so much of honey badgers without the silvery backs.

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@@kittykat23uk I'm just up to post 21 but loving the photos so far! But just had to comment yikes about the toilet being outside with just a curtain - I am not sure I'd be so comfortable with that set up!

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@@Kitsafari Yes, I was also thinking that the wolverine looks like a honey badger - are they vaguely related, I wonder?

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Hi, thank you for your comments. The Wolverine and Honey Badger are in the same family, Mustelidae (from Latin mustela, weasel) including the otters, badgers, weasel, martens, ferrets, minks and wolverines. Mustelids are diverse and the largest family in the order Carnivora. The internal classification is still disputed, with rival proposals containing between two and eight subfamilies. One study, published in 2008, questions the long-accepted Mustelinae subfamily, and suggests that Mustelidae consist of four major clades and three much smaller lineages.

 

The wolverine is placed in it's own genus, Gulo which genetic analysis places close to weasels, martens etc and close to the genus Meles which includes the European Badger. The honey badger has its own genus, mellivora.

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Kittykat beat me too it. ;)
Fantastic pics...love the wet wolverine, lets you see how suprisingly leggy they are, more like a very robust marten over a badger almost. The wolves and bears were also great, especially the very dark bear that was almost entirely black. Beautiful animal.

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Great pictures of the wolverine - it does look much more solid than I imagined

I am sure your use of the word "ecstatic" is fully justified here!

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Yaaaay you saw a wolverine! Great shots yet again.

This really was a great trip!

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Bucketlist sighting. Awesome shots Jo.

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Thanks! Yeah Finland surpassed my expectations! :D

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Having achieved my target of a great wolverine sighting (and some!! :D ), I spent my last two evenings back at Paradise, as this seemed to be the best opportunity for wolves and bears. This time I was in the hide closest to the forest on the left hand side. Runa and Paul were staking out the Lake hide. So we kept in touch in case the wolves migrated between the two sites. A black kite was cruising the area, swooping down to deftly pick off tasty morsels.

21288408954_159b117db5_b.jpgBlack Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

The sky, ominously dark, provided a splendid backdrop to this white-tailed eagle:

21911168285_1085ecce09_b.jpgWhite-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21920876481_9f786d87a1_b.jpgWhite-tailed Eagle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

A bear soon arrived and started tucking onto the carcass. For the first couple of hours more bears came but no wolves.

21288517184_498c6dbd67_b.jpgEuropean Brown bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Then Runa sent me a text, “wolf”. I responded “Nice, send them to us!”. Less than ten minutes later, Light Girl emerged from the tree-line at the back towards where the lake was. She trotted round to her right, heading in a diagonal towards the feeding place, I focused on filming her as she picked up speed. Intimidated, a bear broke left in front of the wolf and galloped into the forest, with Light Girl giving a half-hearted pursuit before she turned off right and headed towards the carcass. It was only then that I realized Crooked Tail had also arrived on the scene and was probably the main reason the bear moved off.


21911296715_60615ac0bd_b.jpgEuropean Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21885157366_54a1f855f7_b.jpgEuropean Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21724434749_9b1f3527cc_b.jpgEuropean Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21885721786_3625ff693b_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

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Soon after, another bear arrived and it started to rain. A flash of lightning was followed by a deep rumble of thunder, the heavens opened. A bear on the carcass attempted to drag it away. The two wolves, anticipated this move and harried the bear who, with one swipe of his massive paw, deftly whacked Light Girl right on the head! Undeterred, the wolves pursued the bear as he dragged away a massive piece of the carcass into the shelter of the nearby forest edge.

21921582431_ec21468ae9_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21723822150_2d858a7307_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21899896032_d9c12568dd_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21911886665_574c0206ac_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21723828780_eb2b988e66_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21725016399_56b7c4cfd3_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21885740836_d7bb4d9679_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21911894785_7db7d7c181_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21921599741_c92daf6dd6_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21725024889_a7dea50847_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf & European Brown Bears by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21724134668_9bcaa1dcfc_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

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21289250244_e602ccef62_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

21290868273_d946e77391_b.jpgEurasian Grey Wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

When the rain stopped... out came the bears, two arrived together and seemed quite amiable towards one another. There was still quite a lot of the carcass left at that stage.

21884854816_84baafd2d5_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear by Jo Dale, on Flickr

The wolves followed and stayed until it got dark. At one point the tan-coloured wolf harrassed one of the bears and then settled down to watch as the bear fed on a small piece of the carcass. The wolf waited patiently for an opportunity to present itself. It soon did, in the form of another bear who shambled over to see what the first bear was eating. When the bears started to argue the plucky wolf seized his chance and sntached the tidbit from right under both bears' noses!

21899072312_89470ce55d_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear and Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21899074542_741d7b5946_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear and Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21289949553_d0c29ab1a4_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear and Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21723227498_ca69494816_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear and Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21289968343_8f0290d3cd_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear and Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21289973183_b7dea4c776_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear and Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21899103992_768542c694_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear and Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

21723026300_11c25d5a25_b.jpgEuropean Brown Bear and Eurasian Grey wolf by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

21290907383_b5cda8df15_b.jpgSunrise over Paradise by Jo Dale, on Flickr

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