maanantai 26. kesäkuuta 2017

Wolverines!

 The wolverines kept on coming back the whole night. There were at least three different individuals. The first one was clearly an older male. He had very wide forehead and looked like he had been in many fights. And he seemed to know his way around the watching lodge. He walked and marked all the trees with meat but didn't bother to take them all right away. He wasn't very photograhic either. Whenever he stopped he made sure his backside was to the cameras.

The next wolverine was a totally different case. He was jumping, climbing the trees, running, scratching, looking at the camera and stayed to eat close by. What a show!

After a couple of hours wait came again a new wolverine. This one looked younger and a bit shy. Crawling at first and when getting the meat running nearer the forest.

Anyway, all the wolverines were much bolder than I had expected. And how happy they looked. I have seen animals and wolverines in captivity and they seemed somehow manic. I guess any animal in the Mustelidae family can seem a bit like that, and you could see it a bit in these wild ones too.  But they weren't anxious.
Imagine a wolverine, a predator in the wild with nothing to fear than people, maybe some natural catastrophes and where he is going to get his next meal. These wolverines who live near the watching lodges can dismiss one worry.



Really beautiful animals! Sometimes they even looked like small bears (wishful thinking, the other lodges had seen some). When the wolverines were gone, the birds came for the booty.
Great Spotted Woodpecker

Eurasian Jay
Lots of Gulls too and some Ravens cawing near by. We got a message from the other lodge 8 km away that they had seen and heard a wolf. An hour later we heard it too. I felt goosebumps rising on my arms. We watched intently to the forest but no wolf came. Still an amazing experience!

lauantai 27. toukokuuta 2017

Suomenhevosen työmestaruuskilpailut 27.5.2017/ The competition of working Finnhorse

This time the winner is going to be a mare. She pulls 1000km sled eagerly to the finish. 

The Finnhorse or Finnish Horse (=horse of Finland) is a horse breed with both riding horse and draught horse influences and characteristics, and is the only breed developed fully in Finland. In English it is sometimes called the Finnish Universal, as the Finns consider the breed capable of fulfilling all of Finland's horse needs, including agricultural and forestry work,harness racing, and riding. In 2007, the breed was declared the official national horse breed of Finland.
The Finnhorse is claimed to be among the fastest and most versatile "coldblood" breeds in the world. In Finland, the term "universal horse" is used to describe the Finnhorse relatively small with a body type that is heavy for a riding horse but light for a draught. There are four separate sections within the Finnhorse stud book, each with different goals: to develop a heavier working horse, a lighter trotter type, a versatile riding horse, and a proportionally smaller pony-sized animal. The combined breed standard for all four sections defines the breed as a strong, versatile horse with pleasant disposition. The average height of the breed is 15.1 hands (61 inches, 155 cm), and the most typical colour is chestnut, often with white markings and a flaxen mane and tail.