Chapron is not making a political point but tells me his research has led him to conclude that EU protection has been key to the wolf’s resurgence, as well as that of other large predators including the brown bear and lynx. We find moose tracks, each hoof print far apart: the animal was running. Wolves are most active during dusk and at night. Pia Ikonen’s family life is recognisably 21st century: inside her modest bungalow, her eldest child, Lukas, nine, is transfixed by a tablet; Lotta, eight, and Lucia, six, watch Kung Fu Panda 3 on the telly, while Linda, four, reads a picture book showing a wolf pulling a sledge carrying two happy kittens. I don’t like that they kill my dogs, but I don’t hate the animal, not at all. Conservation of Wolf has improved. “The big problem is not that they eat the moose; the big problem is that they kill the dogs. “They think this is a good thing: ‘We’ve got more peace. They can now be found all over Poland, even in … Määttänen shows me a photo on his phone: Kessu’s head, so neatly severed it looks like a surgical operation. Finland is a Nordic nation which is in the Fennoscandian Peninsula. Wolves in Poland have recovered remarkably over the past decade, with around 1500 of them now inhabiting the country.. Only a few years ago wolves inhabited only the remote eastern forests and southern mountains. “If we have wolves circling, they can’t be outside in the daytime alone, and in the darkness, not at all,” Ikonen says. Across the nearby border, the Russian authorities reward hunters for killing some of their 50,000 wolves, which are considered vermin. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. “They bark when they stop the moose,” explains Kai Tikkunen of the Finnish Hunters’ Association, and then “it’s like an ice-cream truck calling the wolves.”. Five days ago, Turunen and his fellow hunters went after two wolves. In much of Finland the reindeer hold a hallowed place in the country. So the wolf is a rival, killing moose that hunters would like to catch? He has taken his three-year-old son hunting since he was a baby, but he doesn’t take him wolf-hunting: there’s too much waiting around in the cold. “This is not an issue where you can find a solution that suits all: we have to find the middle way. There’s a spot of vivid blood and a tuft of moose hair, cleanly cut, which Kettunen deduces has been ripped from a living animal. Comfortable viewing hides are excellent places to watch Wolves safely. But on the second circle it was there. “Wolf culling may have sent a negative message about the value of wolves or acceptability of poaching,” they concluded. Wolves are roaming through Denmark, the Netherlands and, late last year, reached the Belgium-Luxembourg border for the first time in 118 years. Usually, a few hunters on skis will move through the forest with dogs, attempting to flush resting wolves towards a circle of waiting guns. They had invited the dog to play and then...” he pauses. Despite the loss of land after the last wars, its forest reserves are now greater than ever before in the 20th century, and they are continuing to grow. We at Finnature can help you to choose the best sites for Wolf watching. Moose hunting is particularly popular, a pursuit that has evolved over decades, with GPS collar-wearing dogs chasing moose up to 15km beyond the hunter, who follows it on a screen. The region is popular among wolves because of the rich availability of prey, says Research Professor Ilpo Kojola of Luke. They put pressure on the hunters to deal with the issue [illegally], so we had to do something.”, But conservationists say this argument is equivalent to introducing government burglaries to reduce stealing. Our wolf population is densest near the eastern border, but the number of wolves has also increased in western Finland. Last modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 12.12 EST, The story of a kill is told in the snow. It would allow Finland to move towards a sustainable and favourable conservation status for wolves. That leaves everyone unhappy: there are either too many licences or too many wolves, so we can’t win.”, The stated purpose of Finland’s cull is to reduce poaching. Persecution still persists, and Wolf indeed must be the most misunderstood animal in the world. (The research professor Ilpo Kojola tells me that genetic testing of 450 Finnish wolves over 20 years has revealed only three cases of wolf-dog hybrids.) Wolves are legally hunted only in areas with high reindeer densities. There are 40 national parks in Finland. If I managed street cleaning in Helsinki they would be equally screwed,” he laughs. Wolf moves with purpose and determination, and can travel long distances within short periods of time. Finland's forests have been intensively harvested over the last few decades. In Finland there is approx. Ari Määttänen, whose last dog was killed by wolves. There are spots of blood by every moose print now. In Finland, there could well be up to 200 wolverines – and about 130 at the very least. Most of the wolves live in the eastern parts of Finland. But its thick wooded trails and thriving wetlands are a hotspot for wildlife, including wolves, brown bears and elks. And after that, the wolves knew I had a dog.” The “wolf circle”, whereby a pack of five or more wolves scour their 1,000 sq km territory for food, takes two and a half weeks in Määttänen’s neighbourhood. “Before, wolves were afraid of people,” Kettunen tells me. His description of the loss sounds like the abduction of a child. A count of wolf packs conducted in March 2018 estimated that there are now around 20 wolf packs in Finland, making the total national population around 200. It’s Kessu’s tail. Finland was estimated in 2020 by the National Resources Institute of Finland to contain 216-246 wolves in up to 30 packs. The Wolf was almost demolished from Europe in the 19th century. It’s so intelligent, it’s so difficult to catch and it adapts to its surroundings so quickly, faster than other species. It’s not just hunters, it’s local people in general. Wolves are still strongly concentrated in eastern Finland and, in almost each case, only single, roaming animals live elsewhere in the country (Kojola and Määttä 2004). “No,” Turunen says. “The moose collided with a tree, so it was not that well,” Kettunen says, with Finnish understatement. Hunters say they’ve been disrupted by fireworks, vandalised trail-cameras and a hunting shelter burned to the ground. Germany has invested millions in public education programmes focused on its new wolf population; and only education will help people and wolves coexist, Gofferje argues. The snowbound track sparkles under my headlights as I drive 18km beyond the nearest shop to meet Ari Määttänen, who lives alone with Minni, his Finnish Spitz. “With the ministry doing this legal hunt, they get fewer phone calls and emails from angry hunters,” says Mari Nyyssölä-Kiisla, chair of Luonto-Liitto’s wolf action group. The wolf population has increased the most in western Finland due to reproduction and abundant prey, Luke says, with a female wolf breeding for the first time giving birth to 3.7 pups on average. Finnish government’s National Resources Institute, public education programmes focused on its new wolf population, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. There are 14 packs that are wholly or mostly in Finland. A row over wolves in Finland. It’s sometimes very scary when I go to the forest: I don’t know if my dog is going to come out alive.” Hunters are compensated for dogs killed by wolves, but it can take 18 months and does not bring back a pedigree animal they may have spent years training. This winter, she has found two sets of wolf tracks in her snowbound yard. It would be written about in a newspaper. Finland has a wolf problem. Määttänen throws a fluffy object on to the kitchen table. Pia Ikonen with her children, who take a ‘wolf taxi’ to school, to avoid waiting at remote bus stops. Finland has a wolf problem. In Finland, Wolves inhabit western and eastern parts of the country. The population is connected to the large Russian wolf population. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. The best time for Wolf watching is from spring to autumn. How does he know the wolf was big? In Finland, Wolf packs are usually formed by seven individuals. There are also records of woods being burnt to the ground to deter wolves. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. “The wolf asks very disturbing questions,” Chapron continues. “They had been waiting 100m away for my dog. French farmers have also demanded that its authorities shoot more wolves. Some of us (IK, JA, SR) have confirmed 2 recent cases of reproduction in western Finland, 1 in 2002 and 1 in 2004. Ari Turunen, a paramedic who lives with his wife and two young children in a wooded village, is the leader of the local hunting group in Ilomantsi. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. While Brown Bears and Wolverines are regular visitors at these sites, Wolves come around more rarely. In the winter, one can try snow shoeing or skiing and in the summer, hiking. Over wolves! Turunen says it is illogical to have two such different approaches, when wolves move freely between the countries. She laughs. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. “It’s big.”. You are one of them. “I like the bears, the lynx, the adder,” he says. The controversy and hatred towards wolves in Finland arises from the fact that Finland is a herding country of the iconic Reindeer. According to Turunen, the local wolf population has grown from two packs to seven or eight. skiing-tour after wolves’ tracks in the snow many times, but haven’t seen any alive. This is a territorial dispute. At these sites, predators are attracted in front of viewing hides with food. Gofferje, a German who lives in Finland, tells me he has loved wolves since he was a boy. His pet dog is 55% wolf; he “lives in my apartment, sleeps in my bed, goes for a 30km walk every day and is a local star here in my village. “If 10 bears are around this house, that’s fine. Wolves and other large carnivores were near extinction or extinct in several countries in Europe by the early 1900s. There’s no noise and I can see the stars.” He also enjoys all but one of his dangerous fellow species. “All my friends and friends’ wives hunt. There are blood spots and more hair and a pine sapling snapped in two. If the population grew to 140 or 150, the next year it went back down. Roaming individuals and even breeding wolves can be found throughout the country. According to Luke data, most of the new territories being occupied by wolf pairs are in western Finland. How can he be sure? When the wolf was completely protected, Niemi explains, “illegal hunting was a big problem for us. There is cause for celebration for them this year as wolf numbers are going up again, but not everybody in Finland is happy about it. The Wolf was almost demolished from Europe in the 19th century. In Europe, Finland is a "forest giant", there being over sixteen times more forest per capita than in European countries on average. In England, wolf persecution was enforced by legislation, and the last wolf was killed in the early sixteenth century during the reign of Henry VII. “No. “I like the countryside very much,” Määttänen says. Wolves and other l arge carnivores were near extinction or extinct in several countries in Europe by the early 1900s. Wolves are very social animals. At present in 2019 the number of them is 185 … Finnature Oy Ltd Ylikiimingintie 205, 91500 MUHOS, Finland Observing wolves at Wildlife Safaris Finland Oy in Kuhmo The first wolves came from Russia to Lassi’s feeding places at the beginning of the 2000s. Last winter, 43 wolves were killed in a “management hunt”, while total fatalities numbered 78, including “problem” wolves shot by police and road casualties. It has long legs, large teeth and powerful jaws, and the ability to pursue prey at 60km/h speed. But one wolf? “Now people are afraid of wolves.” For the past three years, the government has assuaged these fears with a wolf cull. Kettunen points to wolf prints on either side, to where a second and third wolf joined the chase. This winter, Helsinki authorised another cull, permitting the death of 53 wolves, to include those shot by police and traffic fatalities. Five and a half million humans share the country with an estimated 235 wolves, and that’s too many, say rural Finns, whose livestock and hunting dogs are being killed. He started walking in that direction” – he points to a place where his garden blends into the forest – “and vanished from sight.”. “If there wasn’t this strict legislation, there would be very few or no large carnivores in Europe.”, Back in snowbound Finland, I ask local hunter Asko Kettunen, who is also a wildlife photographer, if ecotourism (spotting live wolves) could replace hunting. They are scattered around the country’s archipelago, lakes, forests and fells. I do not really see where you could relocate them without interfering other packs' territories, if you move them over the border to Russia they will just come back in couple of weeks. Wolves are met in northern and eastern Finland. Wolves were driven to virtual extinction in Finland after a spate of attacks on children at the end of the 19th century. This, he says, is the moment the wolves made contact. The first year of its wolf hunt, 2015, was considered a success; but the second, last winter, was not, because eight alpha females were killed – too many. Finland is a country of vast green forests, beautiful Baltic islands, windswept arctic fells and countless blue lakes (though someone claims to have counted 187,888!) “Finnish people are really surprised when we tell them it’s an endangered species. The matter should be decided in the areas where it takes place, and not in Helsinki. He saw two wolves 30m from his window in December 2015. When Finland became a member state of the European Union in 1995, wolves became a protected species in Finland. I spend a lot of time in nature, fishing, and picking mushrooms and berries with the kids. The cull is controversial: the wolf is a protected, endangered species. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. “It’s not enough for the government just to make rules or prosecute poachers. It’s practically impossible to train a wolf. Finland has incredible wildlife; bears, moose, wolves, elk, wolverines and more. But during her 10 years living a mile and a half from the Russian border, Ikonen has seen wolves become ever bolder. I tell him there are barely 200 and he changes his … “It’s stupid that, on the other side, it’s considered a pest and you get money for killing it, and on this side you go to prison.” His own view is that the wolf should be a “valuable and respected game animal”, a hunting prize. When researchers estimate the number of individuals of a species in a country they want to be certain that their assessment of the minimum number within that country is realistic. “It’s just nature and it’s free. The campaign against wolves by Edward I and subsequent nobility was devastating to the wolf population and references to them diminished. In Finland, wolves continued to be freely hunted until 1973 and only few individuals were roaming in boreal forests. Helsinki, Oct 20 (IANS) Guess why is the European Commission in conflict with Finland? Two years before that, Tuscan farmers dumped wolf carcasses in town centres in protest at their burgeoning population. A pair of Wolves and their offspring form a tight family group that survives with co-operation with each other. Finland is bordered by Russia, Sweden, Norway, Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea. “That’s what’s left of my beautiful dog,” he says. In that sense, culling is a political act, Chapron explains on the phone from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. A young moose has been reduced to two front legs and a skin detached precisely from the body, intestines that spill like butcher’s sausages and a mound of freshly chewed grass where its stomach once was. Finland has 300,000 amateur hunters, more than 5% of its population. BirdLife Suomen lintukuvauskurssi Liminganlahdella. “It’s big.”, A European grey wolf in Finland. “I went out with a gun but it was too late.” He found scuffle marks, then wolf tracks. Many people say that hunters hate wolves, but we tolerate them and hope they don’t do any damage. The wolf was so strong it took Kessu without a sound. Data from the Finnish National Resources Institute show there are currently only about 150 to 180 wolves living in Finland, where the government … Even in consensus-loving countries such as Finland, wolf-haters and wolf-lovers do battle online, trading threats, insults and wild conspiracies about illegal poaching or zoos deliberately releasing wolves. While poaching still exists, the Wolf has recovered and adapted to the changing conditions. “No,” he replies firmly. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. U don’t have to show me Wiki, coz I’ve studied biology, etology, philosophy at University, and of course, our Canis. Hunters are shooting wolves in order to prevent them from attacking reindeer, who are herded and slaughtered for their meat and skins. “That’s a male,” says Asko Kettunen, retired border guard, hunter and tracker. We find faeces and a curved bed of snow where a contented wolf took a postprandial doze. I tell him there are barely 200 and he changes his mind. Dusk is falling. This winter, she has found two sets of wolf tracks in her snowbound yard. In Lapland, there are currently only around 35 or possibly even fewer wolves remaining in the wild, and within Finland there are only around 200. Later that afternoon, a neighbour called to warn him that two wolves had crossed the road nearby. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Finnature Oy Ltd | Ylikiimingintie 205, 91500 MUHOS, Finland+358-45-129 42 64 | info@finnature.fi. +358-45-129 42 64 They were once numerous in Portugal, but habitat loss, conflict with humans and the disappearance of prey species meant that by the early 1900s the population was in … The story of a pair of rogue wolves that killed 35 children over 18 months in the early 1880s is still widely repeated. Currently there are less than 200 wolves living in Finland which have mostly crossed the border from Russia which is home to around 30,000 wolves. There was no blood. Some parents are scared that wolves will attack their children. On the Finnish island of Porosaari, we find the first paw print. In the year 2000 there were only about 100 wolves in Finland. What an experience is to see wild Wolves of the north! Kettunen thinks that five wolves feasted here the previous night. Finnature's famous bird and wildlife tours await, Scheduled, tailored and private wildlife tours in the best sites in Finland, Easy way to combine birdwatching and wildlife watching in Finland, See the most powerful predator in northern Europe - the wild Wolf, Explore the best Bear watching and photography sites in Europe, Wild Wolverine encounter - the adventure awaits in Finland. The people are happy.’”. The size of the territory of a wolf pack is determined by nutrition conditions and the density of wolves. “In France, when wolves kill livestock in their national parks, farmers say, ‘We can’t survive with wolves, they are destroying our livestock’. The wolves found in Portugal and Spain are a sub-species of grey wolf bearing the scientific name Canis lupus signatus (the Iberian wolf). Ride a reindeer or a husky sleigh. “The risk of a wolf attack is really, really tiny nowadays,” he says, explaining that the historic attacks happened in an era when children led cattle into the forests, and when there were no moose for the wolves to eat. In Finland, Wolves inhabit western and eastern parts of the country. Underneath his snowsuit, a white and grey camouflage for winter hunting, he wears a black T-shirt that says, in English, “99% bear hunter”. Also in three territories it was uncertain whether area has 2 or 3 wolves, thus uncertainty of pack status. Our wolf population is densest near the eastern border, but wandering wolves and even packs are met all over the country. For them, the wolf poses a threat to their way of life; for others, it stirs deep fears still given cultural expression in everything from fairytales to music videos. About 5-10 wolves were found in the Lappish area; that is a few more than last year. Are they a threat to humans, or should they be protected? The debate becomes very heated, because the wolf is questioning economic practices, land use and the allocation of power in the countryside.”. The animal may be a symbol of freedom and nature’s ability to bounce back, but it also embodies two very contemporary tensions: the gulf between countryside and city, and the chasm between ordinary people and an uncaring political elite. “If your child is afraid of something, do you remove the cause of the fear, or do you educate the child to combat the fear itself?”, “We have people standing on both sides of us kicking our ankles. In this apparently calm and phlegmatic country, the wolf polarises opinion. Europe’s wolf population is on the rise – and in Finland, their future hangs in the balance. Among local people who fear wolves, there is a particular dislike of the EU. “This discussion is dominated by people who have never seen a wolf or lived in a wolf area. This dainty, bird-hunting dog is on a long leash in his snowy yard, as some dogs are still kept in Finland. When Finland became a member state of the European Union in 1995, wolves became a protected species in Finland. “This animal should be protected,” he declares. I’ve been in the trad. They don’t realise we have so much poaching.” Saynevirta argues that Finland needs help from the EU, punitive or otherwise, to stop the wolf cull. “Because on Sunday the hunters shot it,” he says. I’m not saying that wolves do not create damage. Most Finns, says Sami Saynevirta, manager of Luonto-Liitto, a Finnish wildlife charity, have no idea the country has so few wolves. “They were looking for food. They were counted in March 2019. Wolves can’t be chased on snowmobiles, and no more than 50 people can hunt at a time. One of them had been attracted to lard put out for songbirds. Helsinki airport is decorated with stuffed hares and wolverine, and much of its rich animal life – beavers, lynx, bears – can be shot under a strict licence system. This is why there is a need to increase the number of wolves under the control of administrative authorities. On the train from rural Finland to Helsinki, I chat to a young suburban Finn. It also encountered a jogger near a village. The wolf population in Finland is still very small and wolf is classified as a very endangered species. “It is very much a problem if you can’t let your children run around or walk your dog freely.”. How can he be sure? Photo © Getty Images/Franz Aberham Insect issues in Finland Therefore, Wolf watching starts with entry to the hide in the afternoon, and ends in the next morning. “This animal should be protected,” he declares. The extermination of Northern Europe's wolves first became an organized effort during the Middle Ages , and continued until the late 1800s. “It was a very bold one,” Turunen says. Unlike other large carnivores of the north, Wolf lives in packs. The bodies were then dispatched to government scientists for DNA tests; these help to map the wolf population, and confirm the animals are wolves and not wolf-dog hybrids. If both our ankles are sore, then we’ve done something right,” says Sami Niemi, the likable official in Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture, who oversees its wolf policy (and doesn’t hunt himself). Inevitably, there has been a human backlash. A candlelit vigil for slaughtered wolves took place in Helsinki last month, and a wolf hunt saboteur group has sprung up on social media. Five and a half million humans share the country with an estimated 235 wolves, and that’s too many, say rural Finns, whose livestock and … A suspicion of experts, scientists, entrenched power and political elites is a common thread in many of these discussions. “They don’t jog for pleasure,” he says. Most often, the Wolf pack is a family unit. Brushing the Russian border, the wild and rugged Kainuu Forest is rarely ever visited by humans. Europe (excluding Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) now hosts more than 12,000 wolves, twice as many as the United States (excluding Alaska) – despite being half the size and more than twice as densely populated. I do not like it, not at all.”, Määttänen’s beloved previous dog, Kessu, was killed on 22 January last year. “My dog ran into the wolf’s mouth.” There had been no barking. I tell you that here in my country in Finland there are now some 200 wolves. On the Finnish island of Porosaari, we find the first paw print. Via howling, facial expressions, gestures, postures and scent marks, Wolves communicate subtly with each other.