Bear photography in Finland

[Petrus]

Last friday-saturday we spent a night in a hide to photograph brown bears in eastern Finland, about half a mile from the Russian border. 34 encounters with at least 13 individual bears. Getting almost too easy! Bears seem to like dog food a lot...

Flicker album here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/112698197@N08/sets/72157653913252585

[Rainer SLP]

WOW excellent images. Looked at all the images 

I think that even being in a hide, the adrenaline flows quite high 

[Petrus]

I think that even being in a hide, the adrenaline flows quite high 

Actually having a camera between the beasts and me somehow distances the animals somewhat. They did get close, about 3 meters or so, 200-400 zoom could not focus that close. Some shots were taken with 24mm… Somehow I feel I still have not encountered a bear in nature, as I was in a relatively safe box after all...

Modern cameras are just amazing, possible to get usable shots even at midnight. I used D800e when there was more light to get more cropping possibilities, when it got really dark I switched to D4, shooting even with 25600 ISO to keep the shutter speed at 1/200.

[Rainer SLP]

Actually having a camera between the beasts and me somehow distances the animals somewhat. They did get close, about 3 meters or so, 200-400 zoom could not focus that close. Some shots were taken with 24mm… Somehow I feel I still have not encountered a bear in nature, as I was in a relatively safe box after all...

Modern cameras are just amazing, possible to get usable shots even at midnight. I used D800e when there was more light to get more cropping possibilities, when it got really dark I switched to D4, shooting even with 25600 ISO to keep the shutter speed at 1/200.

Thanks

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Stunning images (and scary!)

[spidermike]

Which company did you go with, Petrus? I have been thinking of getting there myself.

[HSakols]

It is sad that they are feeding the bears dog food.  Poor animals will soon become dependent on hand outs. 

[Rainer SLP]

It is sad that they are feeding the bears dog food.  Poor animals will soon become dependent on hand outs. 

That is a good point. Did not think about it.

It would be interesting to hear also the Finland side, on the other hand the same problem also already arose in other parts of the world as far as I know bears searching food in trash containers, breaking in into tourist cars, etc. in cities where they live nearby and national parks, etc.

Nature is adapting quickly to the fast spreading of the worlds main predator 

[jjj]

Somehow I feel I still have not encountered a bear in nature, as I was in a relatively safe box after all...

Would this have been better?

Really nice pics BTW. They bear hide looks seriously substantial - with good reason as they contain some yummy food.
Though were there toilet facilities? As a full bladder and a family of bears outside are probably not a good combination.

[Rainer SLP]

Would this have been better?

WOW he was right at the end of the video 

[jjj]

WOW he was right at the end of the video  

A masterpiece of understatement.
Astonishingly steady hands too, all things considered.

[chez]

Which company did you go with, Petrus? I have been thinking of getting there myself.

If you feed bears in Canada, you can be slapped with a $25,000 fine. I find this company totally irresponsible for habituating wildlife and would personally never join in such a group. Are you really capturing these bears in their habitat doing what they normally do, or are you creating an artificial environment just so you can get a cute shot of the bear? Why not just go to the zoo if you really need the shot.

If you patiently take the time to understand bear behavior, you can predict where a bear will show up. You can position yourself so you don't disturb the animals and take photos of bears in their normal actual habitat.

There is no reason to bait bears except to guarantee their clients photos. The question you need to ask yourselves is is it really worth disrupting this great animals lives just to get more photos. These outfits that bait wildlife would not exist if we all would not support them.

[Rainer SLP]

If you feed bears in Canada, you can be slapped with a $25,000 fine. I find this company totally irresponsible for habituating wildlife and would personally never join in such a group. Are you really capturing these bears in their habitat doing what they normally do, or are you creating an artificial environment just so you can get a cute shot of the bear? Why not just go to the zoo if you really need the shot.

If you patiently take the time to understand bear behavior, you can predict where a bear will show up. You can position yourself so you don't disturb the animals and take photos of bears in their normal actual habitat.

There is no reason to bait bears except to guarantee their clients photos. The question you need to ask yourselves is is it really worth disrupting this great animals lives just to get more photos. These outfits that bait wildlife would not exist if we all would not support them.

+1

[HSakols]

Petrus,

I'm sorry I responded so curtly.  What I should have said was, that's interesting and different from how bears are managed in the Western United States.  And then referenced to something like this http://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/humanbearinteractions.htm  
  I couldn't help myself from commenting because I live in bear country, where bears have broken into homes attracted by dog food and whatever else might be in the refrigerator.  I remember, back in the mid 1980's when discarded food was thrown into open dumpsters that attracted very large black bears.  Today, those of us who live in bear country follow strict guidelines, regarding the storage of our food and that of our pets so that we can protect these beautiful creatures.  
Better regards,

Hugh

[Petrus]

This business in Finland (there are about 10 operators running bear/wolf/wolverine photo hides) started from individual nature photographers wanting to shoot pictures of bears in the seventies. Bears come back to their kill (moose mostly around here) until it is consumed in full. So the logic step was to haul dead cows and hogs to the forest to play the part of the kill. Building a sturdy hide with a tall air ventilation tube to was the next step. So now we are here with commercial operators running a group of hides for paying customers. Martinselkonen can accommodate over 20 photographers/watchers in something like 8 separate hides. One is a big hide for about a dozen people, other ones closer to the animals are for max 2 people. There is a dry toilet bucket in the hide, but no privacy (big hide has a curtain around it). It is not possible or recommended to exit the hide during the night. The guide comes in the morning to take the customers out after the bears have left.

Dog food is a convenient bait as it is easy and cheap to get, you can not see it in the pictures and it is quite healthy also. In Finland, in contrast with USA and Canada, we have never had problems with bears breaking into houses or even tents. We do not use food containers when camping in bear areas, there are zero cases of bears getting into tents or molesting campers, zero. They are still afraid of people, which is good. By the way, dog food used as bait for the bears is not stored in the hides! That would surely pose a danger to the bear watchers.

It is a good question if having something like 12-15 bears living in an area of few square kilometers is natural or a good thing. At least the place is far away from any villages. Still, the animals are wild, even if somewhat used to people, or at least the guides who handle the food distribution.

My trip was a birthday present from my brother. It is possible to contact the place directly through their web page at http://www.martinselkonen.fi/index.php?id=1&la=en

You need to make the reservations quite early, as the places usually fill up early. We made the reservation already in last November.

It is up to the each individual to consider the ethical side of things. Getting a good picture, any kind of picture of a brown bear, at least here, just by hiking around is practically impossible. I would say 99.99% of bear pictures taken or published anywhere are taken from hides like this. Some photographers are open about it, others are not.

Here is a mother with two last year's cubs, taken with 24-70mm zoom:

[spidermike]

That is a good explanation, Petrus. And I think you point out an important difference - the rules behind baiting with domestic food (be it for humans or pets) came out of concerns for safety and had nothing to do with whether making sure they fed 'naturally'. Bears are about the ultimate omnivore and the source of the food means little to them. And if Finland has no trouble with bears then I see no harm in it, especially if it helps to change local attitudes to hunting or keeping 'dancing bears'.

So this brings us to the point of baiting in general - people have used carcases to attract things from bears to wolves and eagles (even in America), and for river birds some people build shallow pits in river beds to corral fish and attract things like kingfishers. From there it is only a small step to using things like dog food or fish scraps. This all seems acceptable though I think most people would draw the line at a pile of burgers!

[Rainer SLP]

This business in Finland (there are about 10 operators running bear/wolf/wolverine photo hides) started from individual nature photographers wanting to shoot pictures of bears in the seventies. Bears come back to their kill (moose mostly around here) until it is consumed in full. So the logic step was to haul dead cows and hogs to the forest to play the part of the kill. Building a sturdy hide with a tall air ventilation tube to was the next step. So now we are here with commercial operators running a group of hides for paying customers. Martinselkonen can accommodate over 20 photographers/watchers in something like 8 separate hides. One is a big hide for about a dozen people, other ones closer to the animals are for max 2 people. There is a dry toilet bucket in the hide, but no privacy (big hide has a curtain around it). It is not possible or recommended to exit the hide during the night. The guide comes in the morning to take the customers out after the bears have left.

Dog food is a convenient bait as it is easy and cheap to get, you can not see it in the pictures and it is quite healthy also. In Finland, in contrast with USA and Canada, we have never had problems with bears breaking into houses or even tents. We do not use food containers when camping in bear areas, there are zero cases of bears getting into tents or molesting campers, zero. They are still afraid of people, which is good. By the way, dog food used as bait for the bears is not stored in the hides! That would surely pose a danger to the bear watchers.

It is a good question if having something like 12-15 bears living in an area of few square kilometers is natural or a good thing. At least the place is far away from any villages. Still, the animals are wild, even if somewhat used to people, or at least the guides who handle the food distribution.

My trip was a birthday present from my brother. It is possible to contact the place directly through their web page at http://www.martinselkonen.fi/index.php?id=1&la=en

You need to make the reservations quite early, as the places usually fill up early. We made the reservation already in last November.

It is up to the each individual to consider the ethical side of things. Getting a good picture, any kind of picture of a brown bear, at least here, just by hiking around is practically impossible. I would say 99.99% of bear pictures taken or published anywhere are taken from hides like this. Some photographers are open about it, others are not.

Here is a mother with two last year's cubs, taken with 24-70mm zoom:

+1

[jjj]

+1

Haven't you just +1ed two completely opposing posts?   

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Haven't you just +1ed two completely opposing posts?   

"I have an opinion too, but I disagree with it" 

[jjj]

"I have an opinion too, but I disagree with it" 

Ha, ha. Indeed.