Over 2500 lynxes and 1700 bears counted in Finland

[Prawnster]

Nothing against hunting bears but I found that video quite disturbing. I'm no hunter but....Surely a bear sitting still would mean a head shot, killing the bear instantly, could have been easily achieved by a hunter with the right gun and the proper experience.


Sent from my phone.

 

[Martti]

I'm no hunter but....Surely a bear sitting still would mean a head shot, killing the bear instantly, could have been easily achieved by a hunter with the right gun and the proper experience.

The hunting is regulated by a law which states the joules used. Also a shooting test is required. When hunting a bear or moose, the hunter always targets at the heart (the kill zone is around 23 cm for moose and only 17 cm in diameter for bear). We do not see the whole picture from the video but it seems that the bear was moving around quite a lot and after the shot missed a bit, it was still able to defence itself on the adrenaline rush.

 

[British Red]

There is a huge difference between a a fatal shot and an instant drop. A normal hunting shot is a lateral "boiler room" shot (transverse through the heart and lungs). Even shots that go through all three organs will not always instantly drop the quarry on the spot - deer can run long distances after such a shot.

Pretty much the only shots that will instantly collapse an animal are neck shots severing the brainstem. Even head shots that completely penetrate the brain are not invariably instant - or even fatal.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Even shots that go through all three organs will not always instantly drop the quarry on the spot - deer can run long distances after such a shot.

I tried explaining this to someone once. His reply was, "Why not shoot them in the legs first then?"

 

[Prawnster]

Not as straightforward as my Hollywood fed mind had assumed then.

Thanks for the clarification.


Sent from my phone.

 

[baggins]

Hunting and shooting any wild animal is such an art. to do it right, minimising the suffering of the target, takes a lot of practice. Even trying to drop a rabbit cleanly at 30 meters takes a bit of practice, so to drop a bear, taking in mind how solidly they are built, does require a modicum of luck.

 

[susi]

A wolf or wolves have killed 79 reindeers in Finnish municipality of Ii in Lapland.

I took this a week ago in Muotkatunturi. Nothing else of the animal could be seen.

And as we're talking about bears, this was so fresh it was still steaming

I have an invite to a bear hunt starting in a couple of weeks, maybe I'll get some better pictures, but no way and I standing around with a video camera!

 

[Martti]

Man injured in bear attack

A bear, awakened from its winter slumber by two hunters and their dogs, attacked and injured one man before being shot and killed near Orivesi, northeast of Tampere. [...] The bear was a two year-old 160kg female that had been tagged last year in Keuruu, about 60 kilometres away from where the attack took place.

 

[Tengu]

Bears can go from comatose to attacking in a frighteningly short time.

 

[Martti]

Bears can go from comatose to attacking in a frighteningly short time.

Specially when your unexperienced dog is roaming free in places where bears are known to hibernate.

 

[Niels]

Poor bear, should've let him sleap

 

[calgarychef]

I've never woken up a bear but my buddy crawled into a den and poked one with a stick until it woke up. Apparently it took about 15 minutes to get it conscious and then it wandered out of the den, looked around and went back in and to sleep.

 

[Niels]

I've never woken up a bear but my buddy crawled into a den and poked one with a stick until it woke up. Apparently it took about 15 minutes to get it conscious and then it wandered out of the den, looked around and went back in and to sleep.

I don't believe anybody would be stupid enough to poke a bear out of it's sleep. Was he drunk? Betting? Was the bear sleeping in his garden?

 

[Martti]

A large male bear (306 kg, the largest wild one ever measured in Finland was 373 kg) woke up, probably after a period of warm weather, and attacked a hunter while he was hunting lynxes. He managed to wound the bear with his shotgun, but was wounded by the bear who managed to bite his face and pelvis area. The wounded bear left the area and was later located and shot some kilometers away from the site of the attack.

http://yle.fi/uutiset/haavoittunut_karhu_kaadettiin_kivijarvella/7027547 (in Finnish with photographs of the bear)

 

[Martti]

Statistics from 2013 (in Finnish)
- Wolverines killed some 3600, lynxes 856, bears 584 and wolves 351 reindeers. The numbers indicated only kills that were reported.
- Reported attacks against dogs were as follows: 25 by wolves, 5 by lynxes and 1 by bears.
- 79 occasions where a bear damaged bee hives.

 

[mr walloping]

A very interesting thread and thanks martti for the statistics.Ive been to finland and will definately be going back again as it is a beautiful country and maybe i will be lucky to see the elusive creatures mentioned.

 

[Martti]

Some statistical numbers from latest wildlife count in Finland:

GROWING POPULATIONS

- Eurasian lynx: 2700-2900 animals from earlier 2500-2800 animals.

STABLE POPULATIONS:

- Finnish forest reindeer: 1900 animals.
- North American beaver: min. 3700 animals.
- Eurasian beaver: min. 2400 animals.

DECLINING POPULATIONS

- Brown bear: 1405-1535 animals from earlier 1560-1680 animals.

 

[Martti]

Another day in taiga, these are annual events even in the largest cities of Finland. - Runaway elk terrorises Helsinki. I believe the situation is quite similar to e.g. the city of Anchorage, Alaska. I also wonder if they have some other kind of solution to the problem, other than shooting the animal?

 

[Macaroon]

A shame to shoot it, especially as the ruskies managed to save theirs, eh?

 

[Martti]

A shame to shoot it, especially as the ruskies managed to save theirs, eh?

There are some likely explanations why the Finnish police decided to shoot the animal:
1) There were no tranquillizers available and the animal posed immediate threat to the public safety.
2) Tranquillizers do not work well on stressed animals do to the effects of adrenaline.
3) Elk is a game animal and needs no protection.