Foxes, owls and moose in Lille Vildmose, Denmark

[Kirstine]

Denmark might not be the first country that comes to mind when you talk safari, but I still want to give you a small introduction to an area called Lille Vildmose.

 

Lille Vildmose is located in the northern part of Jutland - 30 km (20 miles) to the south east of Aalborg and is in fact a raised bog of about 76 km2 (50 square miles). 

 

In Lille Vildmose you will find a variety of animals such as moose, deer, foxes and a lot of interesting birds - i.e. eagles, cranes, geese, hawks and swans. Also the flora of the bog is very interesting. 

 

The area used to be a production area where peat was dug. Now the area is protected, but you are free to go around in the area by car, or riding your own bike - you may even walk. In the area you will find towers for watching and wooden paths to enter the wet peatland. 

 

We went there in May of this year and were lucky to most of the animals that we looked for - though we did not see any of the eagles. 

 

Mama fox bringing home food for her cubs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely stunning scenary:

 

 

The nature area Lille Vildmose is with its 7.600 hectare Northern Europe’s largest raised bog - quite spectacular and not like anything I have ever seen:

 

 

The mute swan  - national bird of Denmark!

 

 

And its tiny relatives...

 

 

One our favorite encounters - a very very sleepy tawny owl chick:

 

 

 

Another common bird of Denmark, the white wagtail:

 

 

 

We stopped by the fox den multiple times to visit the small cubs including after a rather heavy rainfall...

 

 

 

 

In Lille Vildmose (Swedish) moose and red deer have been introduced to help prevent the overgrowing of the raised bog. The moose and red deer should hopefully help the raised bog to restore itself after many years of sphagnum extraction and farming.

 

And on the very last morning of our trip, we finally spotted one of the moose enjoying his breakfast:

 

 

 

Needless to say, I highly recommend a visit to Lille Vildmose! We will definitely go back sometime soon in the hopes of also spotting the white-tailed eagle, the osprey and all the other inhabitants of the bog that we have yet to meet.

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by Kirstine

[mtanenbaum]

Thanks so much for sharing! These are beautiful photos! I especially like the foxes--fantastic!

[adamt123]

Great to see our European wildlife and the owl is so cute !

[Caracal]

Fascinating reading and lovely photos.

Hope to see more after your next visit @Kirsten

[Atravelynn]

Wow!  What a place.  How long did you stay?  How did you spot the foxes?  Is there an area where they den?  Thanks for sharing.

[elefromoz]

@Kirstine, thanks, always nice to discover these little relatively unknown gems, for future travels

[Kirstine]

@Atravelynn - We only stayed for 4 days and did not always have the best weather so we did not spent as much time outdoors as planned.

 

In fact, I don't think that my report gives the area enough credit. It is such an interesting place and the bird life is amazing. These are NOT my photos but just to give you an impression:

 

 

 

Also, it is right by the ocean AND rare plants grow in the area including the carnivorous plant drosera anglica. :)

 

The foxes den close to a gravel road, so they are easy to spot if you have a bit of patience. Actually, they are almost getting a bit too famous and too used to people.