10.8.2025 – Source: Ranua Wildlife Park
A cool treat on a hot day! 🐻❄️💦 On the 15th of July Venus enjoyed an icy rabbit in honor of Arctic Sea Ice Day, happily nibbling it while diving in the cold water.
❄️ At the moment, most wild polar bears are resting along the coasts waiting for the sea to freeze. 📈Though fasting is a natural part of their yearly cycle, climate change has extended fasting periods. For example, in the Hudson Bay area, the ice-free season has grown by 3–4 weeks compared to the 1980s.
🐾 Prolonged fasting affects especially females and young bears, and a female’s pregnancy will not progress if her fat reserves are insufficient after the fasting period.
Our wild forest reindeer male already has impressively sized antlers! 🤩 The growth of cervid antlers is a natural phenomenon is that offers something to marvel at throughout the year. 🌿 At the moment, the antlers of the wild forest reindeer are growing and covered with velvety skin.
🦴 The antlers can grow a couple of centimeters per day, making them the fastest-growing bone in the world! Oxygen and nutrients are delivered through blood vessels in the skin. The skin makes the antlers sensitive to touch, which is why antler sparring is left for the rutting season in the fall. 🍂
🦟 Like humans, animals too have learned to protect themselves from mosquitoes and other flying biting insects. Reindeer seek out open and windy areas, such as roadsides and fell slopes, where the wind keeps insects away. Many animals can twitch or shiver their skin when they feel an insect on their body.
Räkkä is a Finnish term for the seasonal swarm of biting insects, such as mosquitoes and black flies, that appear in northern regions during the summer months. Räkkä is an important part of the northern ecosystem, as biting insects provide food for many birds, frogs, and other animals. 🐸 Mosquitoes also play a role in pollinating plants.
Kids on the way? Maybe! Khurma and Julle have received a permission to breed. If all goes well, little paw prints may appear on the spring snow 🐾 Breeding in zoos is a carefully planned event and an important part of the wolverine’s EEP conservation program 💚
Although the mating season occurs in summer, embryonic development is delayed so that pregnancy continues only later in the autumn — the birth of the cubs takes place in the snowiest time, when the wolverine benefits from the protection snow provides for the den as well as the hard snow cover that makes it easier to hunt larger prey, such as reindeer. ❄️
How long is a “reindeer pee”? 🦌
A “poronkusema” (literally “reindeer pee”) is the distance a reindeer travels before stopping to pee – roughly 7–10 kilometers. It was once a practical way to measure distances in Lapland, where reindeer were the main means of transport.
How many reindeer pees have you traveled today? 😉
Cranes need wetlands to live and reproduce. 💧 Wetlands provide cranes with food and shelter for pairs nesting in the north, and in winter they serve as habitats for flocks migrating south. 🌿 Although wetlands cover only about 6% of the Earth’s land area, up to 40% of all plant and animal species live or breed there. They are extremely important for biodiversity. In addition, wetlands purify water, regulate floods, and help mitigate climate change – they are nature’s own superpowers!
🌱 Unfortunately, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. Wetlands can be protected by conserving the remaining areas, restoring previously drained wetlands, and reducing environmental pollution and construction in sensitive areas. Cooperation with local stakeholders and sustainable land-use solutions are key to safeguarding wetlands.
📷 The wildlife park is a great place to practice nature photography!By observing peacefully, you might capture your favorite photo of the year – or simply learn about composition, focusing, and reading animal behavior. Even a phone camera can take you far!
🎯 Tips to get started:
• Be patient – the animal moves when it wants to.
• Look for the eyes – eye contact often makes the photo more powerful.
• Use natural light and shadows – they create atmosphere.
📷 Remember not to disturb the animals – the best photos come when the animal is at ease.
This time Malla wasn’t in a posing mood! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Malla wishes you all a happy August!
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