The Brown Bears of Finland

20 - 23 July 2007

As we hiked into the towering trees of the Finnish forest, we were struck by the lush, green, peaceful setting. The quiet and tranquility were a welcome escape from the harsh sights and sounds of modern day civilization. Martinselkonen is a nature park of around 6000 hectares and sits in the wilderness of the Kainuu region. Accessed by dirt road, it takes you deep into the realm where moose and bear are more common than human.

While enjoying the fantastic hike through the woods and by the lakes, the anticipation grew as we were able to make out bear prints on the trail. We arrived at the hide, and had no sooner settled down, when lumbering over the adjacent hill, came a huge brown bear. We had never seen a bear in the wild, and were quite surprised by it's size. The hides are well placed to view a beautiful clearing offering a fantastic view of the area's flora and fauna.

This area sits on the border between Russia and Finland and provides a suitable habitat for the bears. Population estimates for northeast Europe (Finland, Estonia, and Belarus) are approximately 1500 bears, and according to our guides, the local population is very healthy. The bears moved into the area at about four o'clock in the afternoon, nearing evening in most places, but, given the extremely high latitude of Finland, dusk wasn't to be seen until nearly midnight! At the peak of the viewing, we saw around 20 bears, with a wonderful mixture of large males, adolescents, and mothers with cubs.

Cubs are typically born in January or February, while the mother is hibernating. Because of this, our July viewing time provided an excellent opportunity to view cubs anywhere from five to six months old. These youngsters were old enough to be active, playful, and even a bit independent, but were young enough to retain the "teddy bear" aspect of their youth.

Our nearly fifteen hour stay in the hide lasted until about half past seven the following morning, but it felt like no time had passed at all. We were able to get lost in the peacefulness of the hide, the picturesque view of the clearing, and the chance to share a few hours in the lives of an awesome animal.

Click here for our Bears of Finland itinerary.

Bryan and Lisa Carbol are involved in a project to combine their passion for wildlife photography and conservation. Please visit their website at: www.c2wildlifeproject.com