Ähtäri Zoo reports that its resident brown bears have awoken from their winter hibernation.
In recent years, the bears have generally come out of hibernation at the same time, in late February or the beginning of March.
This year, as well, they managed to snooze right up to the end of February, even though the winter has been unusually mild.
"The bears' awakening is always a sure sign of spring. It's great to see them stretching and refreshing themselves after a long winter's rest," says Marko Haapakoski, the zoo's curator.
Matriarch and four cubs
Bears have been in residence at Ähtäri Zoo since it first opened in 1973.
There are currently five bears in the park, the bruin matriarch Mimmi (b. 1991) and Mimmi's sons Jaki (b. 2011) and the triplets Kasper, Jesper and Joonatan (b. 2016).
On Saturday, the bears and visitors will be treated to a special bear spring feast at Ähtäri Zoo.
"On Saturday, visitors will be able to see how the bears are reacquainting themselves with their outdoor enclosure after the winter and enjoying the spring air," says Haapakoski.
From 2018 until last autumn, the Ähtäri Zoo was also home to two giant pandas under the terms of a 15-year conservation agreement with China. Faced by severe financial difficulties, Ähtäri Zoo returned the pandas last autumn.
Not the first
The two brown bears at Helsinki's Korkeasaari Zoo, Julia and Sofia, went into hibernation in mid-November. They briefly stirred at the beginning of the year when the weather was exceptionally warm.
However the pair went back to sleep again once colder temperatures set in and fully awoke from their winter slumber on the 20 February venturing out of their den to explore their snow-covered surroundings.
According to estimates by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) there are around 2,000 bears in the wild in the country.
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