Europe 2023 Part 1 Wolverine

Wolverine had long been around the top of my must-see list of the world’s mammals. This hulking, shaggy, loping, secretive denizen of far-flung corners of the Palearctic is mesmerising. It’s the stuff of movies: ask Hugh Jackman. In 2011,

 I was on an expedition to the Russian Arctic that split into two groups for an onshore day trip. The group I wasn’t in saw a pair of Wolverines. I was severely wounded by the dip of the decade and determined to right the wrong one day. So when we decided to embark on a 9-week+ tour of Europe from the beginning of September this year, the beast wove its way into the plans.

We flew to the Finnish capital of Helsinki and took a pleasant four-hour train journey to the regional centre of Joensuu in central Finland. We picked up a hire care and headed north-east towards the Russian border. A drive of about 1.5 hours (we took much longer to look at things along the way) brought us to Keljianpuro Lodge, the base for the famed Era-Eero wildlife hides of Kontiovaara; beware, the route is not straightforward and it takes a bit of research to get one’s head around how to get there.

 Here is Wolverine Wonderland, with little doubt the best place in the world to see a Wolverine in the wild. Indeed, half an hour into an introductory talk by our hosts,, a Wolverine bounded past the window in full view and disappeared into the surrounding taiga forest. We were assured this was extremely unusual. 

Other visitors to feeders outside the window included Eurasian Red Squirrel (above), andWillow Tit and Crested Tit. 

Crested Tit

Marsh Tit

We were driven by our hosts, Eero Kortelainen and Sini Hyvärinen, 5km through the forest to a series of hide-huts overlooking a grassy wetland glade in the taiga. This is one of three similar hide areas on properties accessed by Era-Eero. You enter the hides about 3pm and are asked not to leave until 8am the next morning; the idea is not to scare off any animals coming into the glade. Wolverine is the star attraction, but other visitors include Brown Bear, Wolf and occasionally Eurasian Lynx.

Eero then strategically placed pieces of meat in hiding places scattered around the glade (above). Then the hosts left and we were left to sit it out. The hides are rustic: inside pit toilets, basic beds and bedding, carefully arranged seating. You are given a small quantity of food to tie you over to morning. There is the option of two kinds of huts: larger glassed huts are more roomy and comfortable, offering elevated views over the glade. But they are glassed in, limiting photographic opportunities. The “photography hides” (below) are smaller and dingier but are at ground level, putting you close to animals. They have a series of well-structured holes from which camera lenses may protrude. These hides are a good deal more expensive than the more opulent glassed ones for reasons that are not entirely clear.

 Finland hosts similar hide-huts elsewhere but Era-Eero has the best strike rate for Wolverine. Bears are easier at other lodges because those locally – once regular visitors at Era-Eero - have been decimated by Finalnd’s annual bear hunting season. Nonetheless, wolverines here are not guaranteed and while unusual, sometimes they fail to show.

 It’s a magical place in the heart of the taiga. Few birds are about. The occasional Eurasian Jay (above) and Northern Raven make an appearance, looking for the hidden meat. At one point a Northern Raven is pursued by a Northern Goshawk (below).

 After about 40 minutes of waiting, the first Wolverine appears, uphill from the photograhy hides and right in front of the glassed hide, which is occupied by a single guest who enjoys spectacularly close views. The animal methodically searches out potential meat hiding spots: overturning rocks, climbing trees, burying under tussocks. There is debate about the ethics of “baiting” wild carnivores. 

My view is if an animal as scarce as a Wolverine benefits from limited supplementary feeding, that is no bad thing. Later two more wolverines appear – probably an adult female and a well-developed cub – to join the search for meat scraps.

 Later still, shortly before the sun finally fades, another animal turns up. They are formidable beasts: the largest member of the weasel family, weighing up to 28kg. At first light the following morning, I am greeted by the face of a wolverine a couple of metres outside the hide; so close that I’m unable to focus the camera. Altogether, including the animal at the base lodge, we saw a total of 4 or 5 Wolverines. That’s a good haul. 

 For me, the cream on the pie came later in the night when I heard a Ural Owl calling from the road above the hide. It was dark so there was no prospect of seeing or disturbing animals in the glade, so I quietly broke the rules and left the hide to call in a fabulous Ural Owl (below) – a species I had long wanted to spot - at close quarters. 

My intrusion was immediately detected by camera trap but the next morning there were no hard feelings about this transgression. In summer, when potential viewing hours occupy most of the night, it would not have been possible; we were there in early September, the beginning of the northern autumn, when days are not so long.