You Do Zoo
There is only one close to proper zoo in Finland - Korkeasaari Zoo. It is situated on a island that takes about 20 minutes by boat to get to, with the boat leaving from the harbor market in the center of Helsinki.
While not quite a world class zoo in terms of animas on display, it is kind of cool because it is spread across the island and the enclosures are big, with not too many animals in them. They have space to play, and get out of sight if they choose.
Unfortunately, we didn't see the escaped boa, so I didn't get to practice my snake wrangling.
And, there is a lot of natural trees around as well as space between most exhibits. I can recommend it for a day trip from Helsinki, though be prepared to pay for food if eating there, as it is "captured audience" prices. But, you can easily pack your own food and take it there.
They have some lions (asleep), tigers (3 young ones too), snakes, some smaller monkeys, small kangaroos, emus, owls, an otter, various deers, frogs and birds, as well as some baby meerkats, marmots, camels and a few other randoms, including bears.
It is possible to eat lunch next to the bear enclosure and watch them wander, play and eat. It is quite nice and at one point, my wife forgot where we were and them got surprised there was a bear a couple meters from her - on the other side of the glass of course.
There were a couple things that annoyed me there though;
- Finns
- How noisy Finns are.
Even on the quiet areas.
They let their children act more like animals than the actual animals.
Not all, but there were more than a few.
A couple things to remember:
the Finnish weather is variable, so it is worth packing accordingly, as on an island, it gets windy.
Check the feeding schedules for the day you will be there.
Remember on hit days, the animas will hide away in the shade.
Get to the boat early enough, as if very busy, it only goes every one hour. The boat is cheap and very easy to take ad the trip is smooth.
Other lessons learned today.
I booked the wrong train, to the right place. Rather than the normal mostly express, fast train, I booked a cheaper, slow train that stops a lot.
Ad is filled with alcoholics and the odd drug addict.
That was my wife's face for the majority of the trip.
And her hands demonstrating what she will do to my neck.
The rest are from the zoo.
They are taken on an Olympus EM-1, with a 12-40, or a 40-150 lens. They have been cropped in Lightroom, but most have minimal editing.
We were lucky to see the tigers feeding on a deer hit by a police car. These young ones are only 11 months old and won't be full size for another year. It was throwing the deer around like a toy. A delicious toy.
And the bears are always a treat because,
Everyone loves the bear.
You'd assume that this next sign goes without signage necessary, but its existence suggests otherwise.
I am still on my phone so ordering is difficult, but I have tried and added some formatting at least.
And the photos themselves are not too shabby at all!
Taraz
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A lovely photo journal. Sounds like a regular photo adventure, mishaps and all. And you got one thing wrong, which is so unlike you. The bear really bites; not sure if anyone likes it at all.
The bear is fine - as long as you play dead :)
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I think it is the same here. They never tell their children stop or be quiet because they act like they are the only ones in the world. This is obviously spoiling!
It is terrible. Normally I am the only one complaining, but my wife was too! That goes to show something :D
The photos are indeed not shabby! I like the ones of your wife's face the best though. Those gave me quite the chuckle.
It is all fun and games, until you have to wake up to that face :)
I have seen that kind of scene several times in front of my eyes. I feel it's cruel and I feel bad for it but again I remember that it's the law of nature. What can I do🤔??
The bear is indeed looking very cute and lovely that it would be better if i could touch it's head.
I know If I do it I might not get the opportunity to come back alive 😂.
Yep - the circle of life. As I was telling my daughter the other day - everything has to eat. Even plants absorb from their environment.
Bears look so friendly, but I don't think I want to meet one in the wild :)
Absolutely amazing. Kinda cruel the picture of the Tiger, but anyway. Actually a great shot.
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Hopefully your wife doesn’t know of the face comment :D
It’s sad that people are so poorly behaved or cultured that they can’t keep a little control of their kids. The wild animals are the ones behind the cages but I wonder if some of the kids would be fit for that as well? Annoying.
Some great shots, it reminds me that I need to take our camera with us when we go to the local zoo! We usually go in the fall and it’s a great bit of fun, but I haven’t brought the lens camera before. I plan on doing that this next trip for sure! Some great snaps you got man.
It would take her actually reading here!
I also posted the image and a few comments into a family group ;D
Definitely. I have low expectations for the future.
Definitely take the camera with. If you have a chance to have a little time to be patient, there is a lot of opportunity. I can't imagine what it must be like for the nature photographers and what they have to wait through. Though, I am guessing they leave their kids at home.
I don't like zoos too much, It makes me sad seeing all those animals in enclosed spaces. That being said, I understand it is a very nice place for anyone to go and have a chance to see some animals which will never be able to see in real life.
Yesterday and the day before, we had a chance to see life vultures as we are staying in a small town with the biggest colony in the Iberian Peninsula. I didn't bring my SLR camera with me during this trip and was only contemplating them and shooting with my cell phone but just watching them fly, looking for food in the silence of nature, was astonishing.
Here's a video I found filmed in the same area we were in two days ago. The river, the clam (we were in an electric small boat not noisy at all), and the vultures flying all over were impressive
Interestingly, the Zoo we were at has a breeding program to introduce some vultures back into the wild I believe. There are a few programs ongoing there. One of the staff (someone taking photos with a camera that made me jealous) said that every species has a conservation person who coordinates with other zoos for breeding programs etc. Perhaps zoos are the only way some of these will survive.
Nice looking video!! This is something I would like to do more of, but generally forget as I focus on images.
Yoo did u upgrade camera? That looks like a good zoom lense, damn!
Aws poor deer, reminds me of the time I almost died due to an elk standing in the middle of the road like an idiot, but also cause I was going a bit too fast. xd
Nah, haven't upgraded, but I normally don't carry the longer lens with me (or I am too lazy to swap it) :D
Thankfully, I have never had any close calls with elk or deer here. But I know plenty who have. They aren't the brightest of creatures it seems.
Dear @tarazkp
Do you mean that the deer that was killed by the police car was fed to the tiger?😦
I wonder how animals in the tropics can survive the cold Finnish winters!
Ehehhehehe, with the finnish kids acting in that way, you could see a doubled zoo :D
Lovely images, especially that shot-down animals are also used as a feed for other animal in the zoo. Quite scenographic and impressive I think
the tiger was very big.. many types of monkeys there.
I don't like zoos but the human being has destroyed so much mother nature that some animals are forced to be grown in these places for the surviving of their species 😥☹️ at least they look healthy
The frowning monkey is also me when having to go to a zoo. I dislike those places.
I hope your kiddo had a nice time tho!