Bear hunt in Tuusniemi ends after dog chases elk

Yle followed a bear hunt in Tuusniemi, northeastern Savo, where the day ended after a hunting dog began chasing an elk instead of a bear. The hunt began on Thursday after a three-year break outside Finland’s reindeer herding area.

The hunting lodge of Soitun Erä-Pojat served as the command centre for the hunt, which brought together 25 hunting clubs. The hunting grounds covered nearly 80,000 hectares, most of it privately owned land.

Hunters had collected numerous trail-camera images and sightings of bears in the area. Chief hunting leader Ari Laukkanen said the aim was particularly to hunt bears that had caused damage.

The previous bear hunt outside the reindeer herding area took place three years ago. Appeals against exceptional permits prevented hunting during the following two years. This year, hunters were authorised to kill a total of 182 bears, including two in northeastern Savo.

Tapio Multasuo, operations director of the Koillis-Savo Game Management Association, said the break had created pressure for both people and dogs. The dogs had been used relatively little, he said, and the hunt provided an opportunity to train them.

Dog picks up a possible trail

Overnight rain was thought to give the bear an advantage. At 6.40am, Laukkanen saw on his tablet that Jade, a three-year-old Norwegian Elkhound, had begun barking at something.

The dog appeared to be following an animal, but it was unclear whether the animal was a bear that had visited an oat field. Its owner went to inspect the tracks on the road.

Every hunting dog was fitted with a tracking device. Hunters could use their phones to see each dog’s location, speed and running time. Jade covered more than 10 kilometres during the day.

At 7.30am, the command centre received confirmation of tracks left by a bear. It took more than an hour before Laukkanen called the hunting party together.

He gave the hunters an hour to assemble in the yard of the former Tuusjärvi school. Laukkanen then handed control of the hunt to Ari Ollikainen, the hunting leader of the local Tuusjärven–Haurangin Erämiehet club.

Ollikainen told the assembled hunters that they could shoot a bear the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Hunters arriving after 9.50am were not assigned hunting stand positions and had to remain in reserve. The same time marked the start of the period when a bear could legally be shot.

Hunting stand gives way to duck hunting

Eero Heikkinen of the Riistaveden Erämiehet club was among the hunters waiting at a stand. He said he was fascinated by the distinct nature of bear hunting and had taken part around ten times.

As midday approached, some hunters began leaving. Ollikainen joked that their hunting stand was changing from bear hunting to duck hunting.

At 12.30pm, a female elk charged through the line of hunters waiting at their stands. The hunting leaders concluded that the dog had been chasing the elk rather than a bear, and ended the bear hunt for the day.