Trip Report - Finland Bear Cubs
Currently we are sat in one of the lounges at Helsinki airport following the culmination of our Bear Cubs trips to Finland. It’s a trip that we haven’t run in a while so it’s been really good to get back to visit the bears. We time the trip for the summer when we can maximise the daylight hours - the sunset whilst we were away was about 11.30 pm and sunrise at 2.30 am so a very short night, in fact it doesn’t get properly dark. Of course there is another reason for timing the trip for the summer - it is also the best time to see the new bear cubs of the season.
One of the ‘Double-Spot’ twins
Organising and running trips is never without its challenges and this trip was no exception. Just prior to the trip departing we were informed that our flight might not leave due to industrial action by the airline; not wanting to risk losing time with the bears the group made the collective decision to leave a little earlier and get the train from Oulu instead of flying. At around 6 hours, it wasn’t the quickest way to head north but it turned out to be a good decision, the train giving us a really relaxed start to the trip. Trains in Europe are a different deal to the UK trains - this was the business cabin….
Once we arrived in Oulu it was time for a group meal before heading to our overnight hotel. After a quick breakfast in the morning we began the journey east to Martinselkonen, our home for the next few days. We arrived in time for a late home-cooked lunch and a quick nap before packing our camera bags and getting ready to head to the hides at around 4 pm. There are a variety of different hides at the centre and everybody was split between the different habitats, with one person per hide. Getting to the hides involved a very short minibus journey and a short walk.
We had warned the group about the local insect life and everybody was provided with an extremely fetching head net to wear for the walk to the hide. The insects turned out to be all buzz and no bite - quite literally, but the head nets provided useful reassurance and some excellent photo opportunities!
Depending on the hide, the walk took about 15 minutes along a boardwalk and forest paths. Each person was allocated to their hides, the one that you see here is a double. They were surprisingly comfortable, with really good visibility, lots of shooting slots and storage and a wide bench with a mattress for sleeping. And something that I was very glad for was the proper camping toilet, with a seat and a lid - luxury!
For our first night me and Andy were together in the hide that you see above in the swamp area. As the name suggests this hide overlooks a large swamp area with the forest behind, we were delighted when we saw not just one mother with cubs, but two mothers with young cubs. One mother - who we were later told was called Monkey-Face had two very young cubs, one was darker brown (think dark chocolate) like their mother whilst the other was more of a milk chocolate colour. They were really small so they tended to stick close to their mother all the time. The other mother (Dumbo) with cubs had two that were slightly older - I called these the double spot cubs, because each one had distinctive shoulder spots. We also saw plenty of single bears of varying colours, some were dark and some were very blonde. The first night in the swamp hide was a great introduction to the trip and we were eager to see some more bears! Our time in the hide ended at about 6.30 am and after some breakfast it was time for a decent nap and lunch before heading back out to the hides again.
One of the ‘Chocolate Cubs’ - this one was the milk chocolate variety
For the second night we were in the Forest hides, I took a double and Andy a single. These hides are positioned within the trees and the dappled light makes for spectacular photography if you get the right bears! This time we saw plenty of lone bears but neither of our mums with tiny cubs. We did have a very blonde mother with three equally blonde cubs, these were yearling cubs that were born last winter, these are still small bears and still have that cute look that bear cubs have, but are far more out going and independent. We also saw a very young bear, all on its own, that we had seen the night before at the swamp. This bear quickly became a team favourite. It was always at the back of the forest skulking around and waiting for the bigger bears to leave before coming in. This little bear was very striking with a full white neck collar and we christened it Little Warrior Bear. It also looked to be one of last years cubs, but it has been kicked out very early by its mother - hopefully it gets through the winter.
Little Warrier Bear
For our last night we ended up back at the swamp. I went for the double that we had previously stayed in whilst Andy opted for a single at the other end of the swamp. Unfortunately it was forecast to be a rainy evening but we hoped that we would be able to make something of the rain. Again we saw our team favourites of Dumbo, Monkey-Face and their cubs, as well as Little Warrior Bear. We also got to experience some really lovely behaviours, play fighting, tree climbing and some fierce defending from Monkey-Face after a lone bear ventured a little too close to the small cubs. The first warning sign a bear will give to another bear is jaw slapping, when they clack their teeth together in a show of strength, but when this didn’t work for Monkey-face we got to hear some warning vocalisations too! Unfortunately the forecasted rain then came in, which signalled the end for the bears and we went to sleep with the sound of the rain on the roof of the hide.
The ‘Double-Spot’ twins in a particularly playful mood!
All too quickly morning came and it was time for one last walk back from the hides. When we got back to the lodge it was time for a speed-pack and a quick breakfast before heading west back to Oulu. All in all it was a really fantastic trip that was filled with gorgeous little bear cubs - what more could you ask for! Thanks to all of our lovely clients who helped to make the trip extra special!
As always, if you are interested in seeing more from our trips we host a series of trip based podcasts and video based travel diaries on our Creature Features Patreon site - with free 7 day trials available - what are you waiting for!
And finally, if you would like the chance to see and photography a variety of Finland’s mammals, along with expert photography guidance, then join us in September 2026 for our popular ‘Wolves, Bears and Friends’ trip. For more information on this trip click here. And we will of course be running this trip again, so if you are interested in this tour then please subscribe to our mailing list to hear all about this tour when it is announced.
