In Hälsingeland north of Stockholm visitors may watch and photograph wild Scandinavian Brown Bears (ursus arctos) from safe wooden hides.
Hälsingland is a historical province in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. In English the province is sometimes referred to as Helsingia.
If you want to see a wild bear in your lifetime, then you should go to the Bear Mountain in Hälsingeland. There is a high success rate and you often see the bears’ daily life up close in peace and quiet in safe and comfortable wooden hides with chairs and berths.
Included is also a great picnic, together with accommodation and breakfast in the hide’s cosy beds.
Don’t forget to bring your camera since there are excellent photo opportunities. The hides are adapted to photography and your images will have natural backgrounds.
The journey to the hide is a short hike of about an hour. Visitors leave cars and minibuses behind, entering slowly the forest of the bears and absorbing the special ambience of the wilderness. Often there are signs of the animals tracks, pawed anthills and claw-marked stumps. Ants are a favorite snack of the brown bear, especially nice juicy carpenter ants. The territorial markings on the trees let you know that you are in the right area, and if you’re lucky you might see a bear right here!
Brown bears can run in 50 kilometers per hour, but only over short distances. Vision and hearing are not particularly well developed, but the sense of smell is excellent. The lips are also very sensitive and is actively used when the bear is searching for food.
Males weigh 100-350 kilograms, while females can weigh 60-200 kilograms. Withers height can be up to 1.5 meters.
Brown bears eat berries, roots, grass and small animals, moose calves and reindeer.
There are approximately 3,000 brown bears in Sweden. They are not particularly aggressive. Usually they run away when they detect the scent of humans.
Excursions are ‘quality marked’ with the Swedish Eco-tourism Society’s ‘Best of Nature’ award. You can read more about the safaris here.
Season April-October
Feature image (on top): Ed Brazier Bear Club
Brown Bear Safari in Sweden, written by Admin.