6.6.2016 by Mervi and Vesa
After our visit in Rostock we started planning visiting even Orsa. We thought the end of May/the beginning of June would be a perfect time because it wouldn’t be too warm. Oh bear, were we wrong!!! When we got out of the car in front of our hotel in Mora it was like stepping into a Finnish sauna.
The hot weather lasted during the couple of days we spent in Orsa/Mora. Well, we just had to accept that the weather gods were teasing us ….
After the breakfast following morning it was time to drive to the predator center. Once again we thought many tourists would certainly wonder if the road leads anywhere ….. there’s forest, forest and after that comes a forest. Of course, establishing a park like the Orsa Predator Center would be impossible elsewhere.
Already in the reception we met a familiar face – Susanne! I guess some of you remember the photo of her posing in the Wilbär T-shirt. We also heard happy family news – five wolf puppies were born on the 19th of May. Both the mama wolf and her puppies are doing fine. They were not to be seen by the visitors but we were very glad about the news.
First we went to meet the Kodiak bear Taquka and to our great surprise we found he has a friend – a brown bear called Felix!
A nice keeper told us Taquka and Felix were introduced to each other almost a year ago. The plan was to take it step by step. However, the two bears seemed to be friends from the moment they said ‘hello’ nose to nose through the fence so they were allowed to shake paws with each other much earlier than planned.
Even though Taquka is much bigger than Felix they get along just fine and have bundles of fun together.
At the feeding time the friends are separated – just in case…. When it comes to food there might be some arguments. Taquka is so much bigger than Felix so there could be a risk for injuries.
The keeper calls the bears with these signs – the cross for Taquka and the circle for Felix. Usually the cross is used for females and the circle for males. It’s amazing to see how well it works.
After leaving the playing bears we headed towards the Polar World but …. no white fluffy friends anywhere!! What a disappointment!
We noticed that there was still a small heap of snow left – the remains of the ‘mountain’ – and when we took a closer look ….
Even seeing a back of a polar bear made us deliriously happy! But where was Ewa?
We started walking up to the bear watching platform and we found Ewa supervising some workers. They were busy making preparations for the Summer season. I hope Ewa was satisfied with what she saw.
– Hello visitors! Have you been looking for me? Well, here I am so you can admire me now.
Dear Ewa, you certainly deserve to be admired! What a beautiful polar bear lady you are with such a white, shiny fur!
– My apologies for Wilbär. Where are his manners?! You came such a long way to meet us and he’s just lying there. I really must give him a piece of my mind! I’ll meet you later by the pond.
I can assure you that’s what Ewa said to me! 🙂
Due to some construction works in the park a part of the brown bears’ area is temporarily closed but there are still enormous areas for the brownies to take a ‘walkabout’.
Losa and her cubs from the last year – Helge and Hedvig – are placed in an enclosure with ‘two rooms’ (two connected enclosures). The cubs have, naturally, grown a lot but they still have remains of the white collar on their necks.
Hedvig is examining her shadow.
Oh bear, this tree is far too small for climbing – even for a little boy like Helge!
Mama Losa was taking it easy – at least for a moment.
Then Hedvig told her mama loud and clear she wanted an access to the milk bar. Losa pretended she didn’t hear although her daughter really sounded like a big bear.
Losa decided to take Hedvig for a walk – maybe she would forget the milk thing watching the male bears on the other side of the fence. I forgot to ask if the males were Norbert (the father of Losa’s cubs) and Diego (the father of Mette’s cubs).
It wasn’t easy to catch the whole family in the same photo but we almost managed …..
Hedvig kissing the grass. She’s obviously a nature lover!
After the lunch something caught the bears’ attention. They were very focused on something ….
The ‘something’ was a bear aproaching from the forest. This is so fantastic in Orsa – all of a sudden a bear – or bears – just appears. If you’re lucky you can see them very closely. On the other hand, they can also be hiding all the time!
We were lucky to be on the spot, too, to admire this beautiful bear.
We had been so excited about our visit that we had forgotten our water bottles in the car. You can imagine how thirsty we were after walking in the hot sunshine. Since the high season would begin during the following weekend the kiosks were not open.
We walked down to the Polar World where Ewa was waiting for us. Very wisely she was sitting in the water not doing anything particular.
– At least I’m minding my manners and take care of the visitors! Would you like to take a photo of this side of me …..
….. or would this side be better?
And what did Wilbär do? He was still visiting the Napland. I would have liked to change places with him. I guess he wouldn’t be willing to share his cool bedroom.
Every now and then he lifted his head and wawed a little with his paw but that was all the ‘activity’ for Herr Wilbär this day.
We had no difficulties understanding why Wilbär wanted to stay in his cool bed. The heat was getting unBEARable! For Wilbär’s sake we hoped the snow wouldn’t melt away too quickly …..
Since we were now really thirsty we left Wilbärle lying in a ‘Troll pose’.
On our way to the exit we met Taquka and Felix again. We would have loved to spend more time with these lovelies but we just had to get something to drink soon.
We hurried to the exit where it was possible to buy cold drinks. After some purchases in the shop it was time to leave the park for today.
In spite of the heat we had a wonderful day with the bears and we were looking forward to the next day – hoping the weather would be a little cooler. After a well deserved siesta it was time for a dinner. Luckily our hotel had a special offer – the price included even a dinner so we didn’t have to go and look for a restaurant.
After filling our bellies with a very good meal we were ready for a good night’s sleep.
Our report from the day 2 will come soon. Stay tuned!
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