Teacher Stumbles Upon Baby Bears ‘Dancing’ In Finland Forest, Thinks He’s Imagining It
Physical education teacher Valtteri Mulkahainen from Sotkamo, Finland, has been devoting a lot of his free time to wildlife photography. For the past six years, Valtteri has been shooting his country’s wild animals and captured many magical moments. And this is a story about one of them.
On the 3rd of June, 2013, Valtteri was planning to explore the Finnish taiga around the town of Martinselkonen. As the man was exploring the area, he noticed a brown bear coming into a clearing with a few small cubs.
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Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
“The bear cubs behaved like little children,” Valtteri told Bored Panda. “They were playing, and even started a few friendly fights. I felt like I was on a playground in front of my house, where small children frolic around. That’s how much these adorable animals reminded me of little children. At one point, the three of them got up on their hind legs and started pushing each other. It was like they were dancing in a circle.”
Valtteri was in a shelter 50 meters (164 feet) away from the cute bear cub action and had the perfect view. “I photographed the cubs with the bear all evening and all night,” he said.
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
You can bump into a bear pretty much everywhere in Finland except the Åland Islands. Most of them live in the eastern part of the country and Lapland, but people regularly see these majestic creatures in the southern and western areas as well.
Like the cubs have successfully proven us, bears are agile and strong. They use their forelegs very effectively for both hunting and getting around. Moreover, they’re very good swimmers and climbers. Basically, they’re the whole package.
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
However, the fact that Valtteri managed to get such stunning pictures of the family is really fascinating. Bear will typically try to avoid humans as best as they can. Humans rarely see them in the wild since these animals almost always retreat immediately after detecting our presence. Keen senses and the ability to move silently make them perfect at this game of hide and seek.
According to the latest assessments by the Finnish Natural Resources Institute, there were between 2020 and 2130 bears before the 2019 hunting season.
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Image credits: Valtteri Mulkahainen
Today's the day when teddy bears have their piiiiccnicc!
Load More Replies...What enchanting photos! They look like illustrations for a book on Fairies
Yeah, I really wish he'd video'd it! Instant viral YouTube hit!
Load More Replies...This is what I want to see. Even though I get minus points for never making a comment?
Aww, sweetness overload - with mama carefully keeping a good eye on them and the world around them. Precious!
So cute. I want this concept of 'hunting season' to be banned everywhere and forever.
Bear hunting is strictly controlled in Finland. You will need to pass tests and get a special licence. Every kill needs to be informed to the gamekeeping authorities and also the police. You can never shoot a female and/or her cubs, and never one near their nest. But you need to understand that only by this kind of controlled hunting, the population stays within reasonable numbers and people can keep living in eastern and northern Finland (to be clear: there aren't many people living there as it is).
Load More Replies...Nature will not 'balance itself' because "people" are destroying it faster than she can recover.
Load More Replies..."Man....is a tame, civilized animal....but if he be insufficiently or ill educated, he is the most savage of earthly creatures." - Plato. No doubt about it.
Load More Replies...Our creator has been so kind and loving to gift us with such a wonderful assortment of animal life!
Certainly not kind to animals, don't you think so, Lorac? "They are always saying God loves us. If that's love I would rather have a bit of kindness." - Graham Greene, The Captain and the Enemy
Load More Replies........and like, we always go from delightful to hunting and killing.
Load More Replies...Yes, baby animals are cute. But don't forget that even wild animals that are cute have predatory instincts, and approaching them, especially if they have cubs, can be lethal.
Which is the reason these pictures are being taken from a considerable distance. This is with a long-distance lens, so he is nowhere as close as it appears.
Load More Replies...Clearly, they are practicing the dance of their people in preparation for their adulthood ceremonies.
Absolutely adorable!! I feel honored to get to see this, even though it's in pictures.
Looks like three dancing fauns from Gliwice :) Faun-5e46f...2b4ed1.png
Such a treat, for the photographer and us, those bears are so adorable you have the urge to play with them, I think it may have been difficult for the photographer, to hold his excitement, I would be shaking like a leaf in the wind, great post, thanks !!!
You sure were there at the right time, such a cute capture... like they were holding hands, dancing in a circle
Living up here in NEPA, I see lots of wildlife and the bears always come around and leave me alone. They love my berry bushes and fruit trees, so do the deer and wild turkey. Seeing the lil bears playing immediately the Teddy Bear Picnic song came into my head. Seeing the young animals is so wonderful. This winter the mother possum who stays in my garage (she comes and goes) had one of her daughters with her and I am waiting to see a few baby possums by Easter. She has wondered into the house as well as her daughter a few times just looks around and when they see me they just stop and look and i talk to them and get them some more food. Please protect all of HIS animal friends of the land, air and sea and stop trophy hunters and poachers and their govt enablers. Pax+
Thank you Albert for your comment. It sounds like you were describing a scene on other planet, where there are no vile humans to utterly destroy nature and kill all life it supports.
Load More Replies...This gave me goosebumps so hard! The most precious thing I've ever seen omg.
These lil rascals absolutely made my day - 3 little bears out to play !!!
Lovely photographs, Mr. Mulkahainen! Btw, we have more bears in New Jersey, USA than there are in all of Finland. Treasure your precious bears!
"When shall we three meet again; in thunder, lightning, or in rain?" LOL.
"Hunting season's coming, we three will never see each other again." not LOL
Load More Replies...They have free health care in Finland, no wonder they're dancing!
Last one standing has to hitchhike their way down to Sweden for some hippy-a*s solstice party.
Love Finland, it has a very unique and largely unknown role to play in World War Two (potentially pitting Hitler against Stalin!). Have a read of 'Weird War Two' by Denham and Trow for more info - https://amzn.to/3nzp2sr
I was sad to read that there is a hunting season in Finland (for bears) The little bears are utterly gorgeous. Wonderful photo captures.
Thank you for providing these magical images ... such a joyous, exciting time for you ~
Does Anybody know what species of bear this is? Because I think its moon bear in also equally think I'm wrong.
Let them have a little fun before they'll be hunted to death by lovely sanguinary sub-human monsters.
Cute photos! They look like mythical pan creatures. When you say "According to the latest assessments by the Finnish Natural Resources Institute, there were between 2020 and 2130 bears before the 2019 hunting season"... Two thousand bears doesn't seem like very many.. and this is BEFORE the HUNTING SEASON? So creepy. Here are some cute bears. So cute. There are only a couple thousand left and we will soon hunt down and murder some of them?? Please tell me you meant 2 million.
Who did down-vote Keith comment? Oh yea, a trophy hunter. They don't like to be called what they are: cowardly murderers; to gun down an unsuspected animal for fun is delightful to these merciless, compassionless sub-human monsters.
Load More Replies...If you go down to the woods today, you are sure of a BIG surprise....Thank you for sharing...
Ok.... what kind of potato phone this guy has? He can't record a video??
Lovely photographs, Mr. Mulkahainen! Btw, we have more bears in New Jersey, USA than they have in Finland. Treasure your bears!
The three bear cubs are way past the legal limit of cute! I'm melting!
Absolutely the bestest pictures I've seen in awhile. Thanks for sharing them.
I love these pics however it looks like they are playfighting, not dancing.
Lol. They look like kids dressed up as bears. It’s terrible when the entire population is only just over 2000 though 😢 I hope they’re not hunted
Wow! It's amazing he was so close (only 50 meters/164 ft) away, I would have been afraid to be so close
I'm sorry but these look photoshopped. The heads are too big for the bodies and the fur is different in the shots...
Hunting is a necessary evil. As we have completely gutted the normal ecosystems, species become out of balance, and will either die of starvation, or die of diseases caused by overpopulation. Since we have destroyed the natural system, we have the responsibility, the duty, to make sure these species stay within healthy numbers, so they don't die from starvation or terrible diseases. Instead, they get a very quick, honorable, humane-as-possible death. As well, several of these species, when killed humanely, can be used for purposes like human consumption, rather than being wasted for nothing. However, as ugly and distasteful as hunting may be, it is our duty to take the place of normal predation, or other normal population control. We caused this, so we must fix it, and the way we fix it is to regulate by legal hunting.
Load More Replies...Today's the day when teddy bears have their piiiiccnicc!
Load More Replies...What enchanting photos! They look like illustrations for a book on Fairies
Yeah, I really wish he'd video'd it! Instant viral YouTube hit!
Load More Replies...This is what I want to see. Even though I get minus points for never making a comment?
Aww, sweetness overload - with mama carefully keeping a good eye on them and the world around them. Precious!
So cute. I want this concept of 'hunting season' to be banned everywhere and forever.
Bear hunting is strictly controlled in Finland. You will need to pass tests and get a special licence. Every kill needs to be informed to the gamekeeping authorities and also the police. You can never shoot a female and/or her cubs, and never one near their nest. But you need to understand that only by this kind of controlled hunting, the population stays within reasonable numbers and people can keep living in eastern and northern Finland (to be clear: there aren't many people living there as it is).
Load More Replies...Nature will not 'balance itself' because "people" are destroying it faster than she can recover.
Load More Replies..."Man....is a tame, civilized animal....but if he be insufficiently or ill educated, he is the most savage of earthly creatures." - Plato. No doubt about it.
Load More Replies...Our creator has been so kind and loving to gift us with such a wonderful assortment of animal life!
Certainly not kind to animals, don't you think so, Lorac? "They are always saying God loves us. If that's love I would rather have a bit of kindness." - Graham Greene, The Captain and the Enemy
Load More Replies........and like, we always go from delightful to hunting and killing.
Load More Replies...Yes, baby animals are cute. But don't forget that even wild animals that are cute have predatory instincts, and approaching them, especially if they have cubs, can be lethal.
Which is the reason these pictures are being taken from a considerable distance. This is with a long-distance lens, so he is nowhere as close as it appears.
Load More Replies...Clearly, they are practicing the dance of their people in preparation for their adulthood ceremonies.
Absolutely adorable!! I feel honored to get to see this, even though it's in pictures.
Looks like three dancing fauns from Gliwice :) Faun-5e46f...2b4ed1.png
Such a treat, for the photographer and us, those bears are so adorable you have the urge to play with them, I think it may have been difficult for the photographer, to hold his excitement, I would be shaking like a leaf in the wind, great post, thanks !!!
You sure were there at the right time, such a cute capture... like they were holding hands, dancing in a circle
Living up here in NEPA, I see lots of wildlife and the bears always come around and leave me alone. They love my berry bushes and fruit trees, so do the deer and wild turkey. Seeing the lil bears playing immediately the Teddy Bear Picnic song came into my head. Seeing the young animals is so wonderful. This winter the mother possum who stays in my garage (she comes and goes) had one of her daughters with her and I am waiting to see a few baby possums by Easter. She has wondered into the house as well as her daughter a few times just looks around and when they see me they just stop and look and i talk to them and get them some more food. Please protect all of HIS animal friends of the land, air and sea and stop trophy hunters and poachers and their govt enablers. Pax+
Thank you Albert for your comment. It sounds like you were describing a scene on other planet, where there are no vile humans to utterly destroy nature and kill all life it supports.
Load More Replies...This gave me goosebumps so hard! The most precious thing I've ever seen omg.
These lil rascals absolutely made my day - 3 little bears out to play !!!
Lovely photographs, Mr. Mulkahainen! Btw, we have more bears in New Jersey, USA than there are in all of Finland. Treasure your precious bears!
"When shall we three meet again; in thunder, lightning, or in rain?" LOL.
"Hunting season's coming, we three will never see each other again." not LOL
Load More Replies...They have free health care in Finland, no wonder they're dancing!
Last one standing has to hitchhike their way down to Sweden for some hippy-a*s solstice party.
Love Finland, it has a very unique and largely unknown role to play in World War Two (potentially pitting Hitler against Stalin!). Have a read of 'Weird War Two' by Denham and Trow for more info - https://amzn.to/3nzp2sr
I was sad to read that there is a hunting season in Finland (for bears) The little bears are utterly gorgeous. Wonderful photo captures.
Thank you for providing these magical images ... such a joyous, exciting time for you ~
Does Anybody know what species of bear this is? Because I think its moon bear in also equally think I'm wrong.
Let them have a little fun before they'll be hunted to death by lovely sanguinary sub-human monsters.
Cute photos! They look like mythical pan creatures. When you say "According to the latest assessments by the Finnish Natural Resources Institute, there were between 2020 and 2130 bears before the 2019 hunting season"... Two thousand bears doesn't seem like very many.. and this is BEFORE the HUNTING SEASON? So creepy. Here are some cute bears. So cute. There are only a couple thousand left and we will soon hunt down and murder some of them?? Please tell me you meant 2 million.
Who did down-vote Keith comment? Oh yea, a trophy hunter. They don't like to be called what they are: cowardly murderers; to gun down an unsuspected animal for fun is delightful to these merciless, compassionless sub-human monsters.
Load More Replies...If you go down to the woods today, you are sure of a BIG surprise....Thank you for sharing...
Ok.... what kind of potato phone this guy has? He can't record a video??
Lovely photographs, Mr. Mulkahainen! Btw, we have more bears in New Jersey, USA than they have in Finland. Treasure your bears!
The three bear cubs are way past the legal limit of cute! I'm melting!
Absolutely the bestest pictures I've seen in awhile. Thanks for sharing them.
I love these pics however it looks like they are playfighting, not dancing.
Lol. They look like kids dressed up as bears. It’s terrible when the entire population is only just over 2000 though 😢 I hope they’re not hunted
Wow! It's amazing he was so close (only 50 meters/164 ft) away, I would have been afraid to be so close
I'm sorry but these look photoshopped. The heads are too big for the bodies and the fur is different in the shots...
Hunting is a necessary evil. As we have completely gutted the normal ecosystems, species become out of balance, and will either die of starvation, or die of diseases caused by overpopulation. Since we have destroyed the natural system, we have the responsibility, the duty, to make sure these species stay within healthy numbers, so they don't die from starvation or terrible diseases. Instead, they get a very quick, honorable, humane-as-possible death. As well, several of these species, when killed humanely, can be used for purposes like human consumption, rather than being wasted for nothing. However, as ugly and distasteful as hunting may be, it is our duty to take the place of normal predation, or other normal population control. We caused this, so we must fix it, and the way we fix it is to regulate by legal hunting.
Load More Replies...
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