National Geographics update on Wolves in Sweden and Norway.

The call of the wild can once again be heard in forests in Sweden and Norway, heralding the recovery of the gray wolf.
The wolf had been driven to extinction during the last century, and the animals' comeback since the 1980s has the elements for a conservation success story.
But the growing presence of wolves in Scandinavia has polarized residents there and put the mammal's long-term future in the region in doubt.
Many rural communities have brought strong opposition to wolf conservation, saying the wild predators kill their livestock and hunting dogs.

Public opinion in Norway, which has a large rural population, has tended to side against the wolf, and in Sweden the carnivore also appears to be losing support.
Increasing numbers of gray wolves are being killed illegally, researchers say. At the same time the population has been isolated and, as a result, weakened by inbreeding.

With the Swedish countryside seen as a key battleground in what's expected to be a close-run general election in September, the wolf debate is at the top of the political agenda.
"All the political parties are now saying you must listen to the people living with the wolves," said wolf researcher Olof Liberg of the Grimsö Wildlife Research Station in Riddarhyttan, Sweden.
According to Stockholm-based ecologist and commentator Petter Hedberg, the wolf in Sweden has become "a symbol for the way the political power in Stockholm dictates the way people live in rural areas, without [the politicians] having to face the consequences of their decision."

Controversial Conviction

Gray wolves were thought to be extinct in Sweden and Norway by the 1960s following centuries of persecution.

 Unexpectedly in the 1980s a single breeding pack was discovered in south-central Sweden.
Studies suggest the pack came to the area naturally from the Finnish-Russian border region more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away

The wolves had been granted government protections since the 1960s in Sweden and the 1970s in Norway that made it illegal to shoot wolves in the wild.

The latest surveys by Swedish and Norwegian researchers with Skandulv (the Scandinavian Wolf Research Project) indicate that the wolf population is currently growing at a rate of about 20 percent annually.
Latest estimates suggest there are around 125 gray wolves living wild in Sweden and about 25 in Norway.
The population's stronghold is the densely forested central southern region of the Scandinavian peninsula but as wolf numbers increase, the animals are moving closer to human territory, and conflicts are on the rise.

Last year a sheep farmer from Dalsland in central Sweden was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for illegally shooting a wolf that he claimed had recently attacked his flock.
The conviction was followed by a successful campaign by the farming and hunting lobby to allow farmers to kill wolves that pose an immediate threat to fenced livestock.
"Before, you had to wait until the wolf had actually put its teeth in the animal," Liberg said.
This month Swedish media reported that rural campaigners are seeking to petition the Swedish Parliament for a further relaxation of wolf protection measures.
Their proposal would allow wolves that attack hunting dogs or livestock outside of fenced areas to be shot.

Maximum Number

Governments already place limits on the number of breeding packs or individuals that can exist within their borders.
Norway, which has around two million free-grazing sheep, wants just three reproducing packs.
The government there has established a wolf zone next to the Swedish border outside of which wolves may be shot.

Sweden has a preliminary population target of 200 wolves. Liberg, coordinator of Skandulv, is now doubtful whether this figure will be increased.
"If you had asked me five years ago, I would certainly have said, Yes," the researcher added. "Now I'm not so sure, because the wolf issue has become hotter politically."
If the Swedish wolf population continues to grow at the current rate, he says, this will probably mean licensed culling.

According to a new Skandulv study yet to be published, fatalities of radio-tagged wolves suggest that up to 20 percent of the Scandinavian population is killed illegally each year.
"That's about 25 to 30 wolves," Liberg added. "It's a very heavy drain on the population."
Wolf researchers are also worried about the health of a population founded by just a few individuals.
Such packs have little genetic diversity and are vulnerable to inbreeding. As result, Skandulv says, litter sizes are decreasing.

And further wolf migrants from the north are being prevented from coming to the rescue, Liberg says.
"The northern third of Sweden [part of Lapland] is a reindeer husbandry area, and the Saami herders say they cannot tolerate any wolves at all," he explained.
Proposals to import new blood from Finland or Russia are seen as too controversial, Liberg adds.
"The politicians are not ready for that," he said.
"In the long run we need new wolves," he added, "Sooner or later the litter sizes will be so small they will not compensate for mortality."

James Owen for National Geographic News 
August 17, 2006

Image by phantom_ace_x1 (flickr)

Lordi continues to catch the attention of the worlds press.

Finland's rock monsters go pop

A cola soft drink has been launched in Finland to honour the hard rock group Lordi, who won the Eurovision Song Contest this year.
Ritva Sinisalo, the head of soft drinks products at the brewer Olvi Group, said Lordi Cola — which will have labels featuring the monster-masked band members — is targeted at all consumers “from babies to grandparents”.
The group ended Finland’s 40 years without a Eurovision success with their tune Hard Rock Hallelujah.

The Times    17 August 2006

The Lionising of Lordi!

BEFORE the Finnish heavy metal band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest in May with its anthem Hard Rock Hallelujah, its many critics warned that the latex-wearing monster mutants would embarrass Finland, inspire Satanic worship and scare children by blowing up Barbie dolls on stage.

But after ending Finland's 40-year losing streak at the Eurovision contest, the world's biggest celebration of pop-music kitsch, the quintet has been transformed from national scourges into national heroes - suggesting the winner still takes all, even in self-effacing Finland and even when the winners dress like Gothic trolls.

The lionising of the former outcasts has reached such surreal heights that there are plans in the works for a Lordi postage stamp, Lordi action figures, a Lordi comic book series, Lordi commemorative coins and Lordi the movie - a horror film starring the band members as themselves.
The President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, once lobbied by horrified Finns to withdraw Lordi from Eurovision, recently praised their retractable Satan wings and slasher-film inspired lyrics as "Finnish quality work". Pepsi has begun advertising its drinks in Finland with the slogan "Hard Drink Hallelujah," and Finnish magazines are publishing cut-out Lordi monster masks that children can wear at school.
Town officials in Rovaniemi, the home of Lordi's lead singer, Tomi Putaansuu (aka Mr Lordi), near the Arctic Circle, recently renamed a central square after Lordi and built a wall of fame with the band's handprints.

Previously derided for polluting the morals of Finnish youth, the band's drummer, Kita, has had a youth centre named after him in his home town, Karkkila, in south Finland.
Mantasala, the birthplace of Amen, the band's guitar-playing mummy, has paid homage by erecting an abstract rock sculpture called "Hard Rock" near his old high school.

Finnish observers say the Lordi fever is part of a general sense of cultural assertion as Finland grows into its role as the holder of the revolving presidency of the European Union, basks in its high-technology economy and sheds any complexes it might have about what it means to be Finnish.
Even the Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, is solidifying his heavy metal credentials: he was recently photographed with the band, his pinky, index finger and thumb raised in a rock-music salute.
"We are now seen as the miracle of the north, the land of Nokia and high-tech, one of the most competitive economies in the world, and a country that is rocking and rolling," said Alex Stubb, a Finnish member of the European Parliament.

Putaansuu, also the band's leader, has a theory about Lordi's sudden rehabilitation.
"Being a hero is easy: You just have to win the Eurovision Song Contest, apparently," he said recently. "Until a few weeks ago the whole nation was against us totally - they did not want us to represent Finland. Now all the magazines in Finland are printing Lordi masks for children. There's not much logic going on inside. But let's face it, people are stupid."

The New York Times 15 August 2006

To link to the Lordi official website click here.

Along the west coast of Sweden they really know their oysters.

Oysters from the west coast of Sweden rank among the best in the world, because they grow slowly in cold water. They are exported in small amounts to first-rate restaurants all over the world.
Most Swedish oysters come from Bohuslän, and are hand-picked mainly near Grebbestad, which is also where the oyster safaris leave from.
          
In 2004 the non-profit Oyster Academy was established, for oyster lovers all over Sweden. One of its aims is to realise the huge potential of the exquisite Swedish oysters, and to support and encourage oyster lovers, restaurateurs, fishermen, suppliers and divers.

Start of the Oyster season celebrations.
To celebrate the start of the Oyster season there will be the Oyster Day on 2 September in Grebbestad (approx 2 hrs north of Gothenburg) on the West Coast. All restaurants will have special Oyster menus with Oyster Champagne. At Tanums Gestgifveri (click here for hotel details) , there will be Oyster weekends including a 5 course gourmet dinner in conjunction with the nearby celebrations in Grebbestad. There will be special boat trips to the Oyster banks and tasting of Oysters on the boat , departing from they jetty in Grebbestad.
On 3 September they will be Oyster Golf on the local Golf course.

    
The Västsvensk Mersmak culinary certification body
In Western Sweden, the language of the local cuisine has a particularly powerful resonance, and the inspiration and raw ingredients for this are drawn from nature’s well-stocked pantry of delicacies from the sea, forest, field and lake.
The Västsvensk Mersmak culinary certification body Was launched in 2000 by the Tourist Board of Western Sweden with the aim of further developing the already highly recommended cuisine of the area. It is forging a strong partnership between restaurants and producers of raw ingredients, and it is enriching the gastronomic experience of visitors to the region as well as a detour. As anticipated, this initiative has been a great success from the outset, with restaurants and food producers of the region demonstrating the excellent form they are in.

To date the region boasts 33 accredited restaurants and a large number of committed producers of raw ingredients. All accredited restaurants display our Västsvensk Mersmak plate edged in blue as a mark highest quality and guarantee to you of a gastronomic experience to remember.

For further details of a gourmet tour of the region click here.

Is the long hot dry summer is taking its toll on Laplands berry crop?

The hot dry summer has had an effect on the usually bountiful supply of berries in Finnish Lapland. Forest berries have been part of the Finnish diet for hundreds of years. Everyman´s rights in Finland allow people to walk and pick up wild berries even in forests and swamps that they do not own or without any permission from landowners provided that they don’t damage the environment. During August and September Finns make frequent visits to the forests and fells collecting berries for their own use or to be sold by the kilo / litre to berry traders that take up residence in market places throughout Finland for the berry season.

About 67 % of adult people pick up forest berries in Finland. When the crop is good, people pick up about 50 million kilos of berries. Of these 35 million kilos are for personal home consumption and 15 million kilos are used commercially. Berries collected include lingonberries, cloudberries and bilberries / blue berries.

In recent years berry pickers from Russia, Ukraine and even as far a field as Thailand have arrived in Finland during August and September to collect berries, all being paid by the kilo. In the past they have been able to pick enough to cover their travel, accommodation and food costs and still make a profit.
The drought and dry summer, have resulted in a poor berry crop this season in some areas of Lapland creating problems for the foreign berry-pickers. Many Russian and Ukrainian berry-pickers, who have travelled to Finland with high hopes of earning money by picking wild berries feel cheated and would like to go home, but have no money for a return trip or for food.  They are turning to local authorities for help.

Locals agree it is a poor year but those with a good local knowledge are heading to the “wet” areas where berries can still be found and are finding enough for domestic use. Even more of a worry to the Finnish forest food pickers is the lack of mushrooms, another highlight on the Finnish calender.

For areas traditionally offering good berry and mushroom picking

In Finland click here.

In Sweden click here.

When are the Aurora Borealis most likely to appear in Finnish Lapland?

The particles causing the Northern Lights come from the sun, from which they are catapulted out into space at speeds of up to 1000 km a second on the so-called solar winds. The Northern Lights typically form at a height of 100 km as a result of charged particles (electrons and protons) accelerating in the Earth's magnetic field and colliding with air molecules. These give up part of their surplus energy in the form of light. The phenomenon is rather similar to the formation of an image in a television tube, or to the emission of light by a neon lamp. The usual greenish-yellow, and occasionally reddish, appearance of the aurora is produced by the oxygen in the atmosphere, whereas the blue and violet light is due to nitrogen.

The Finnish name for the lights (revontulet) comes from a Sami, or Lapp, legend whereby the tail of a fox running along snow-covered fells strikes the snow drifts, sending a trail of sparks into the sky. Revontulet literally means "foxfire".

The systematic observation of the Northern Lights began in Finland in the mid -1700’s. From the 1970’s the Finnish Meteorological Institute has operated auroral cameras at several stations allowing them to compile extensive statistics, images and monitor seasonal variations.

Today, the FMI maintains a modern digital all-sky camera system that takes the auroral pictures without film directly to the memory of a computer. At the moment there are five cameras in operation. The pictures are transmitted, principally in real-time, through Internet to be seen everywhere. Due to light nights in Lapland during spring and summer, the auroral cameras have been switched off. The photographing begins again in autumn.

Where and when are the Northern Lights most seen?
Statistics reveal that the most Northern Lights are observed in the Kilpisjärvi region of Lapland. With a clear sky during the dark period of the year on average the auroras is seen there on three nights out of four.  The 100 % (every night) level is only attained in northern Norway, along the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Further north still their occurrence again decreases. As one travels south, the incidence diminishes so that in the Sodankylä region the Northern Lights are seen every second night, and in the Oulu-Kuusamo area every fourth night.  On cloudy nights, of course, it is not possible to see them at all.

 
At 9 pm in the evening, Finnish time, the average probability of occurrence in Lapland exceeds 50 %. It reaches a peak at approx. 11.30 pm, when there is a magnetic midnight and the disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field that the lights depend on are at a maximum. After midnight the incidence of the lights dwindles, so that by 4 am to 5 am the probability of occurrence falls below 50 %.
In North-Finland, north of the Arctic Circle, the best season for seeing auroras is December - January. During the summer, the nights are too bright for observing auroras.

For the best locations to experience the Northern Lights this winter click here.

Good reasons to be in Finland according to the Helsinki Times!

1. Sauna - the Finns have invented it and despite many imitations they're still the best at it.
2. Suomirokki (Finnish rock'n'roll) - "mun mummoni muni mun mammani, mun mammani muni mun": simply ingenious.
3. Juhannus (Midsummer) - a day when the whole country goes to the mökki (summer cottage) to grill sausages, drink beer, fight the mosquitoes, and in a few unlucky cases, drown in the lake. National spirit condensed!
4. Nights - bright, crispy and tempting in the summer; cold, dry and wrapping in the winter.
5. Public transport - irritatingly punctual (although drivers in Helsinki could smile more often).
6. Snow - its shapes have inspired architects like Aalto, its presence continues to amuse thousands of kids (and annoy as many drivers).
7. Wednesday night - the "pikkulauantai" ("Little Saturday") defeats all foreigners who try to go to work early on Thursdays, and makes them understand how superior Finns are at recovering from hangovers.
8. Ferry boats - a perfect way to combine avoiding tax with extreme partying. The boat to nowhere concept (a ferry that wanders in the middle of the sea for 20 hours just to go back to where it started from) is still unequalled in the whole world.
9. Loska (slush) - what would winter in Helsinki be without it? It has the outstanding capacity of forming puddles slightly longer than the average human step (Helsingin Sanomat).
10. Sandals - best when worn at work, especially in combination with black suit and tie.
11. Tuparit (housewarming party) - the Finnish housewarming parties are usually announced to neighbors by a handwritten note hung near the main door of the building. The note usually invites neighbors to join the party if they think it's too noisy!
12. Lapland - a truly wild region, (un)populated by the proud Sami people and by assorted fauna (thousands of reindeers, millions of mosquitoes and the occasional Norwegian seeking for cheap alcohol).
13. Alko - it was born as the retail chain of State monopoly for alcoholic beverages. In times of euro, globalization, and frequent ferries to Estonia the monopoly will soon be a thing of the past, but the Alko managers understood it long ago and created a pleasant environment with an outstanding selection.
14. Hernekeitto (pea and meat soup, usually eaten on Thursdays) and perunalaatikko (potato pudding) - Finnish gastronomy at its best.
15. Pullonpalautus - the biggest queues at Alko shops are not for buying wines, but for returning bottles. And at 10 cents a piece, it's worth the wait.
16. Women - the most beautiful are said to come from Turku, but certain foreign tourists do not seem to be particularly picky about the city.
17. Walking on the frozen sea - never has man felt so powerful (save for those unlucky ones who drown).
18. V and W - a country where these two letters are eqivalent (and names are mixed accordingly in the phonebook) cannot be too normal.
19. Wappu or Vappu (May Day) - the biggest student party in Finland, where the Havis Amanda statue in Helsinki is the first to receive a graduate hat and the only one who can stand up properly the following day.
20. Finnish - a language that counts 15 case endings, has almost no prepositions, no future tense, and where "pencil" is translated as "lyijykynä" (pronounced: lew-you-kew-ner) deserves due respect.
21. Silence - in the countryside, in the sauna, on buses (at daytime), something we Southerners cannot simply conceive.
22. Nokia - was it not what brought us here in the first place?
23. Design - ubiquitous as mobile phones, it's what makes Finns sell mobile phones.
24. Architects - Saarinen and Aalto have been the greatest, every Finnish family man tries to be one when building the mökki.
25. Mökki (summer cottage) - the traditional summer house is built in wood near a lake and has the obligatory sauna. A place where Finns reconciliate with the world during the summer.
26. Jokamiehenoikeus (Everyman's right) - a law allows anyone to walk in any property, even if private, provided that no disturbance or damage is done. What in other countries would cause serious social unrest is here considered perfectly normal.
27. Coffee - Finns are the keenest consumers in the world. And it's not as tasteless as in America!
28. Taxes - don't you also love boasting that you pay the highest taxes of Europe in front of your foreign friends?
29. Noise - during ice hockey matches (moderate), on charter flights to the Canary islands (high), on night buses back from the bars (extreme).
30. Houses - simple, cozy and warm (yes, even in the winter).
31. The Helsinki-Vantaa airport - the best in the world (IATA survey, 1999), and the only one where the baggage almost invariably comes in five minutes - try & see yourself.
32. Lakes - as many as 187 888, according to official counts; sometimes numbers say it all.
33. Trust - Finns trust other people so much that even Italians start to do the same!
34. Queueing for a club - so common that it's almost a way of living, especially in the winter.
35. Järjestysmiehet (bouncers) - the doormen deserve respect for the temperatures in which they have to work and for the customers they often have to face (or, in some cases, drag out).
36. Beer - oh, yes, and lots of it.
37. Taxi drivers - many of them are graduate students, most of them speak English and practically all of them accept credit cards for any amount. The fact that they are ludicrously expensive doesn't matter so much.
38. Mobile phones - nowhere else they are so ubiquitous, yet so discrete.
39. Pussilakana - the bag-like sheet that wraps the blanket is something so ingenious that even we Southern Europeans will copy it one day.
40. The national anthem - one of the few that still makes people cry.
41. Outdoor queueing at the burger kiosk in 20 degrees frost at 4 am after a night out drinking - no other population does it with such a relaxed style.
42. Finns - they have withstood a Russian invasion (November 1939 - March 1940), had the same president for 25 years (Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, from 1956 to 1981), won an ice-hockey world championship (in Sweden, against the home team, 1995) and got rid of the 1 and 2 cent coins (January 2002): an outstanding people!

To find out for yourself first hand click here.

Climate change leads to healthier reindeer and large salmon in Lapland.

SHORTER winters, longer summers and a slight rise in temperature in northernmost Europe are proving a boon for arctic wildlife, agriculture and tourism.
In spite of dire warnings about climate change, the most northerly reaches of Scandinavia are basking in good news: reindeer are growing stronger and the salmon larger. New possibilities are opening up for tourism trade and even for wine-makers.

In Rovaniemi, Father Christmas’s Lapland home in northern Finland, reindeer are putting on weight. Jan-Eric Paadar, a herdsman’s son in the northerly Inari region, said recent shorter winters meant Finland’s 200,000 reindeer had longer to graze on grass and lichen. “It’s easier to find food when the winter comes later and later all the time,” he said.
The same applies to Norway, where the government reindeer department has reported four bumper grazing years. “They are in good condition. Last year there was a very good market for reindeer meat,” said Christian Lindman, a spokesman.

Salmon farmers are also benefiting. At Volden, a family-run salmon and trout producer in the coastal town of Alta, an employee said higher water temperatures made fish eat more and grow faster.
Professor Eystein Jansen, of the Bjerknes centre for climate research in Bergen, said changes in the North Sea ecosystem were among the clearest signs of climate change.
Norwegian fishermen can now net bigger cod and herring catches as both species migrate further north. An increase of 1C had made Norway’s waters the optimal temperature, the professor said.
According to Inger Hansson-Bauer, of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, farming patterns are also changing because of a rise in spring temperatures of 1.5C in the past century.
“There is a very clear tendency for spring to come earlier and autumns to be warmer,” she said. “In some areas there is a positive effect for farming. Where there was just one hay harvest, they can now harvest twice.”

As holidaymakers swelter in the south, northern Europe’s tourist industry is set to gain. Norway’s holiday home market is booming, with good coastal properties fetching £500,000 to £1m each.
Watersports are also drawing more followers. In Finland, there are 10,000 windsurfers and 1,000 more take it up every year. Pasi Rahikka, the manager of the Surf.fi windsurfing company, said climate change was making a difference.
“The summer seems to last a month longer than five or 10 years ago,” he said.

Richard Bisgrove, a plant scientist at the University of Reading and author of a well-regarded report on climate change, agreed that tourism would extend north with the onset of climate change.
“I’m in my early sixties and maybe when I retire I will go further north rather than south,” he said.
Denmark is already nurturing a wine industry. Although still in its infancy, it exported wine to France last year.
“Warm temperatures and long summers are helping us to mature the grapes,” said Jens Michael Gundersen of the Danish Wine Association.

Experts warn that while looking at the advantages of climate change is “refreshing”, the damage will far outweigh the benefits overall. “There will be gainers in this but the cost on a worldwide basis will be astronomical,” said Bisgrove.

NICOLA SMITH, BRUSSELS. THE TIME ONLINE.

To for reindeer activities in Lapland click here.

Santa visits London to check up on Christmas department.

Father Christmas and Debra the Zebra arrive at Harrods department store in central London, Tuesday Aug. 8, 2006. Taking a break from a safari holiday, Father Christmas opened Christmas World, the store's Christmas department on Tuesday.

Have you planned your Chrisitmas yet?  For ideas click here.