Eurasian Wolves in a meadow. Eurasian Wolves were at the top of our agenda when we visited the Taiga forest in remote Finland close to the Russian border. We were told there was a pack of 14 in the area. Oh, how we hoped to see them! Remarkably, we had not been in the hide long when a lone wolf appeared in the distance. Slowly, more arrived and there was a series of nice interactions but at a distance. Thankfully, my new camera/lens system delivered and I could get good footage with the wolves some 600m away. The weather forecast was for fine and sunny weather (perfect!) but as the rain began to fall and the light began to decline, the action began (as always!). Several of the wolves headed in our direction. Thank goodness for the low light capability of the cameras. We were treated to a fantastic display as the wolves searched for food scraps, interacted with each other and behaved as one would expect a pack to do. Finally, the pack headed back to the meadow where there was more interactive behaviour before they vanished into the forest. A fabulous encounter!
The Eurasian Wolf or common Wolf (Canis lupus lupus) is a subspecies of Grey Wolf. It is a formidable predator: keen senses, powerful jaws, large canines and it can pursue prey at up to 60km/hr. Their main prey are large herbivores like Reindeer and Moose. They mostly take young, old or animals in a poor condition and as a result they help maintain the vigour of the herbivore population. The Finnish wolf population is small numbering less than 250 individuals. However, they are part of a much larger population in Russia.