Kuhmo’s untouched wilderness offers good opportunities to meet and photograph a wide range of fauna – these animals are, for example, bears, brown bears, wolverines, forest deer, flying squirrels, beavers and large birds of prey, such as golden eagles and white-tailed eagles. One of the most popular photography and sightings in Kuhmo is the brown bear (Ursus arctos). It is the national animal of Finland and has always been an important animal in folklore. The bear represents the forces of nature and is believed to be of celestial origin – the king of the forest.
The wolf (Canis lupus) also lives here, most often in packs. Biologically, the wolf is the same species as the domesticated dog. When a wolf howls, it is most often a sign that it is going to hunt or that it is calling the pack together. The wolf is a carnivore, and its diet includes, for example, deer, hares, birds and carrion. The wolf has always aroused strong emotions – wolf hatred has led to persecution around the world. The wolf avoids humans and is not easily seen.
The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is the smallest large carnivore and the la rgest marten in Finland. Its diet consists of, among other things, carrion, i.e., dead animals,which means it looks for something to eat rather than hunt. The future of the wolverine
depends on the presence of other large carnivores, such as wolves. The wolverine gets its name from its eating habits; it quickly gobbles up its food and swallows even large pieces of meat quickly.
The fourth large carnivore found in Kuhmo is Finland’s only wild cat, the Lynx (Lynx lynx). Its diet consists almost entirely of mammals and birds. The lynx’s fur is reddish-brown in summer and gray-white in winter.
Of these four large carnivores, the bear hibernates, roughly from October to March-April. These animals live in the forests of Kuhmo, but encountering them is still very unlikely – they are afraid of humans and will run away if they hear a noise or smell a person.
Services are available to allow you to observe and photograph these animals in the wild. Most of these are located near the eastern border of Finland, in the middle of the wilderness.
You can ask us, at Hotel Kalevala, for more information about these companies and their services!
In addition to these large predators, you will also meet many other animals in the nature of Kuhmo, such as moose (Alces alces)
and roe deer. Kuhmo also contains the previously endangered forest deer (Rangiver tarandus fennicus), which was in danger of extinction. In Finland, great care is taken to ensure that the forest deer population does not mix with the reindeer living in Lapland and that its population remains pure. The forest deer resembles the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), but is larger and longer-legged. In summer, forest deer graze in bogs and in winter they move to forests, where they find lichen as their food. The forest deer of Kuhmo often migrate west in summer and in winter in large herds back east again.
You can also find these animals in Kuhmo: various grouse birds, hawks, white-tailed and golden eagles, waterfowl, foxes..
