Watching bears from a wheelchair

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By Mikko-Pekka Heikkinen in Suomussalmi
     
      Matti Anttalainen from Vantaa is sitting in his wheelchair deep in the pine forests of Northern Kainuu. He is staring out at six male brown bears, each weighing in at around 200 kilos. They slide into view in front of him from the forests, like ghostly apparitions.
      The massive beasts are hanging out around twenty metres from Anttalainen's viewpoint, and in all probability they know he is around somewhere.
      But between Anttalainen and the vice-like grip of several bears' paws is a robust log wall and some windows. Anttalainen is seated in the bear-watching hut owned by Suomussalmi bear safari entrepreneur Eero Seppänen/>
     
Seppänen is the first in Finland to sell a bear safari to people who are wheelchair-bound.
      It is possible to reach the hut by car, and there are facilities inside for wheelchairs, even in the WC.
      Not long ago, Seppänen also completed accommodation that is wheelchair-friendly.
      Anttalainen is a demanding customer. By profession he is a master-builder, who designs buildings suitable for wheelchair users. Right now, of course, he is so deeply engrossed in what is going on outside the window that things like the steps for able-bodied visitors or the raised thresholds are not exactly his first priority.
      "Whoa... there's another one coming", he whispers.
     
The 250-kilo monster stuffs pieces of salmon into its maw and rolls over onto its back to chew things over. Drool and salmon bones drip from the bear's long lower lip.
      "It's only the males that are coming to take the carrion bait right now", explains Eero Seppänen from the next window.
      Males, yes; definitely males. The bears are so up close and personal that their impressive testicles are clearly visible from inside the hut.
     
Matti Anttalainen arrived here at Seppänen's Arola location north of Sumussalmi with his helper Arto Heikkilä.
      Having someone around to help out is necessary on Seppänen's safari, despite the entrepreneur's best efforts, says Anttalainen.
      For instance, the accommodation in an outbuilding next to the main house offers a few challenges.
      "There's no way I can do anything in that kitchen", Matti says as he sees the cooking and eating area. The dining-table blocks any access to the sink. One of the showers is not suitable for Anttalainen, and the slope of the ramp leading to the building is too steep.
      "It would have been perfectly possible to sort these things out at the design stage - it wouldn't even have cost anything very much", says Anttalainen with some disappointment in his voice.
      "But for a lot of people it will work fine. Us disabled folks come in all sorts."
     
Anyway, the main thing is the bears.
      "Quite stunning, this is. Really wonderful to be able to see it", breathes Anttalainen.
      The cost of a bear safari at Arola is EUR 80.00. Between five and eight bears show up at the feeding place in front of the hide every day, and the show goes on all evening. It's like watching Nature or the National Geographic Channel on TV, only this is live.
      Talk in the hut is carried on in a soft whisper, so as not to frighten the animals outside. Anttalainen stares glassy-eyed at the bears all evening, like a man in a deep trance, and he barely says a word.
      Then again, what is the point of talking when you've got the king of the forests putting on a show in your front room?
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 20.8.2007

More on this subject:
 NATURE NOTES: Bears not enamoured of "easy listening" stations

Previously in HS International Edition:
  DNA from fur helps in bear census (20.6.2006)
  Kainuu predators sitting ducks for foreign nature photographers (20.9.2005)

MIKKO-PEKKA HEIKKINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
mikko-pekka.heikkinen@hs.fi