Autumn has arrived in Ranua

1.10.2025 – Source: Ranua Wildlife Park

🐾 Good news from Finland’s fells! The breeding of the critically endangered arctic fox has once again succeeded in Finland – for the fourth year in a row. ✨ This summer only four pups were born, mainly due to low numbers of lemmings and voles, but every pup is an important step for the species’ recovery.

Long-term conservation work by Metsähallitus and WWF Finland, including supplementary feeding stations and cross-border cooperation with Sweden and Norway, has made this progress possible. Although the population is still small – about 582 adult arctic foxes in Fennoscandia – the goal is to reach 1,000 adults by 2035. 🎯

💚 Every hiker can help by taking food waste away from the fells, so that the arctic fox’s main competitor, the red fox, won’t benefit from human leftovers.

🦉 Owl on the ground? A rare sight for many species, but completely normal for snowy owls – their habitats are treeless tundra and mountain plateaus, so resting, moving, and nesting on the ground is practically their only option. In our wildlife park snowy owls do have alternatives, but most often they also spend their time on the ground rather than in trees.

Who might be sleeping in a little today? 💤

The lynx was on the verge of disappearing from Finland in the early 20th century – at its lowest point, only a few dozen individuals remained. Thanks to protection, the population began to recover, and over time, people’s attitude toward this elusive predator has become increasingly positive. 💚

This autumn, an estimated 3,500 lynxes roam in the wild in Finland. As the population grows, lynxes are increasingly found near human settlements and can occasionally cause problems for animals under human care. Nevertheless, humans and lynxes generally manage to coexist relatively well, even when their habitats sometimes overlap. 🐾🌿

🐾 Did you know that polar bears are also protected through proper waste management?

🌍 Living in Arctic communities means living alongside polar bears. Sometimes a bear may approach a village in search of food. These encounters are reduced through measures such as secure waste management, keeping garbage out of bears’ reach, and patrolling for bears that enter villages. Generations of experience also help people understand bear behavior and anticipate their movements.

🐻‍❄️ To make life alongside polar bears safer and smoother, Polar Bears International organizes community exchanges where residents can share experiences and best practices – helping to improve safety for both people and polar bears.

❄️ Arctic foxes are getting ready for coming winter by growing long, fluffy white winter fur. It is said to be the warmest of all mammals. Arctic foxes start producing additional inner heat only when the temperature drops below – 40°C.

💥 In the wild, autumn is the season of strength for musk oxen! Males face off in spectacular clashes, their thundering impacts echoing far across the landscape. The winner earns a harem and the right to mate. A musk ox’s thick skull plate protects its head during these powerful battles.

🐂 At the wildlife park, our male Henrik can now be seen testing his strength and following the females with his lips curled, sniffing out the scents of heat.

Autumn has arrived! 🍂 Brown bear Malla is preparing herself for the hibernation later on. Who knows when the first snow flakes will fall ….