Cerf de Virginie, Finlande. White-tailed deer, Finland.

Circle

[ ENG below ] Une petite rando après le travail à seulement une douzaine de kilomètres de la maison... il n´y a rien de mieux que cette incroyable nature pour se reposer, se vider la tête et faire le plein d´énergie ! -- A quick hike after work quite close from home... Nothing can beat the great nature to rest, empty your mind and fill yourself with good energy!

Find it!

Trouvez l´élan ! (Finlande) -- Find the moose! (Finland)

Rivalry

Siblings having a "test" fight: a good lesson for these bears!

New Generation

[ ENG below ] Élans, Finlande. Un certain sentiment de curiosité, même venant de cette femelle accompagnée de sa très jeune progéniture (quelques semaines seulement). -- Mooses, Finland. Feeling of curiosity, even from this female with her very young calf (probably only a couple of weeks old).

A lake with Seals

[ ENG below ] Rencontre avec l´un des phoques le plus rare de cette planète: le phoque annelé d´eau douce du lac Saimaa, Finlande. Longtemps chassé, il restait seulement une centaine de phoques annelé Saimaa. Grâce à des mesures de protection efficaces, il y a maintenant entre 300 et 400 individus. Malheureusement, l´espèce est toujours en danger: prises accidentelles dans des engins de pêche, manque de glace pendant l´hiver, etc. Une rencontre furtive, mais un immense plaisir de voir au moins l´un de ces phoques ! Ca promet un beau projet pour les saisons à venir ! -- Short meeting with one of the rarest seal of this planet: the Saimaa seal (ringed seal), Finland. After lot of hunting there was only a hundred of Saimaa seals left. Thanks to efficient conservation efforts, they are now between 300 to 400. But the future of this species is still a hot topic because of by-catch in fishing gears, the lack of ice during the winter, etc. A quick sight but a huge satisfaction to see at least one of them! I will for sure focus more energy on this seal for next seasons.

Helsinki

Aurore boréale depuis Helsinki, à quelques mètres de mon balcon. -- Northern light in Helsinki, only few meters away from my balcony

Shy

Wild brown bear cubs, Finland. For some people, bears are these really cute animals. For some others, they are "dangerous" and should be avoided. One sure thing is that bears are magnificent animals and also an important species for their environment.

Early bird visitor

Early morning - a small animal is running between the trees. After taking some pictures, this little one was looking straight at me. Maybe because of the excitement I moved too much and I produced some noise, or maybe the camera shutter sound was too loud. Small animal but still: a good encounter and a great feeling in the Finnish wilderness.

L´hiver

Lorsque l´hiver envahit la Mer Baltique. -- When winter is invading the Baltic Sea.

Quiet

[ ENG below ] Instant au calme dans la forêt boréale, Finlande. - Quiet moment in the boreal forest, Finland.

Finnish wilderness

The light is going down but life appears from the forest. A bear is taking its "nightly walk" along a lake to inspect the place. This scene happens almost every night here in Finland when bears are awake from hibernation, but showing it in a picture is an other story. Capturing these moments to share it with others is the best way to understand how magnificent and unique some places are.

Young coastal fox

[ ENG below ] Renardeau et Mer Baltique, #Finlande. Un jeune prédateur, aussi discret que curieux. Même si le renard n´est pas mammifère marin, ce jeune renard a vécu ses premiers mois à quelques mètres de la Mer Baltique. Il n´est pas impossible que sa mère ait profité du littoral pour nourrir ses jeunes. Dans la nature, tout est lié, c´est un ensemble que nous devons protéger. -- Fox pup and Baltic Sea, #Finland. A young predator that is as shy as curious. Even if foxes are not classified as marine mammals, this young one spent its first months only few meters away from the Baltic Sea. It is very probable that its mother has benefited of the coastal area to feed her litter. Nature is connecting so much species together, protecting the marine environment is also protecting many more species.

Listening

Wild white-tailed deer, always aware of what is happening around (even with small ears!)

Life & Safety

Safety is very important for bear cubs, specially when they are few months old like these little ones. Following their mum is essential to avoid the path of others bears.

First look?

One of my very first pictures while discovering new places in Finland

Privacy

Playing time for this wild brown bear cub (and almost photobombed by a sibling...). It is a very important moment for a cub: this one will leave its mother in only few months and being safe will be one of the first rule to admit.

Intensity

Breeding period for mooses, intense sounds are everywhere.

Close-up

Close encounter with a female brown bear

The next generation

Young moose in its natural habitat

Flying cub

A 6 month old wild brown bear trying to... fly! The tree was indeed too small to support the small cub...

Look from a wild bear

Usually, I am not a big fan of close-up pictures, really not. But sometimes, you have to try, specially when a bear is looking at you!

Une forêt pleine de vie

Élan finlandais. Dans quelques jours la saison de la chasse aux élans sera normalement terminée, ici en Finlande. Les élans vont très probablement redevenir un peu moins soucieux - voire moins paniqués - des bruits environnants de la forêt. -- Finnish moose. Within few days the moose hunting season will be almost over here in Finland. The moose will most likely become less worried - or less panicked - about the surrounding noise in their forests.

Playful

Wild brown bear siblings during a small "fight", just on the border between Finland and Russia. Cubs are spending lot of time to play together. These small fights are important for their future: they will have to share the taiga with other bears.

Bull

A picture coming from the wild Finland. This wild bull moose did not pay that much attention to me, and this is fine! It was only few weeks before the mating season: bulls can sometimes be a bit unpredictable at this season...

Survivor?

[ ENG below ] Ici en Finlande, les rencontres sont parfois comme cela: nous sommes mutuellement surpris. Seulement quelques secondes d´émerveillement avant que ce magnifique cerf reparte doucement dans l´obscurité. Dès ses premiers mouvements, je vois bien que ses déplacements sont limités: il boite à cause de l´une de ses pattes. Blessure naturelle ou tir raté d´un chasseur ? Impossible de l´affirmer. Il faut juste espérer qu´il y reste bien caché pour éviter de potentiels prédateurs, ou des hommes... -- Encounters are often - here in Finland - like this: both of us feeling surprised. Only few seconds of staring happened before this beautiful male went back to the darkness. It was clear that his movements were limited. Limping because of a natural injury or from a miss shot from hunters? It´s impossible to say but I do hope that this wonderful one will stay well hidden in the forest, away from natural predators, and humans.

Hidden

Hidden moose in a dense untouched forest.

Escape

Finnish fall lights.

Explorer

It is always funny and interesting to watch cubs exploring their environment. You can never get enough of these little guys in good light conditions.

Watch and look

Her calf was not far away, it was a chance to have a moment close to both of them. She never turned back or stopped having an eye contact on me: safety is the key to raise the young one.

The smell

Curious wild brown bear, always smelling around to make sure that the next steps are safe.

Rencontre avec le roi de la forêt

Élan, Finlande. -- Moose, Finland.