- Wildlife photographer Chris Jones from Staffordshire snapped the incredible photos in the Boreal, Taiga in Finland
- Brown bears' lunch stolen by pack of wolves as they rounded the sleuth up and drove them out of their territory
- British snapper spent 14 hours a night in a hide just metres away from the animals to capture the whole encounter
- The estimated 1,500 bears living in Finland are treated with reverence, wolves do not enjoy the same treatment
A crafty pack of wolves outsmarted a sleuth of brown bears by swooping in to grab their lunch.
The
wolves chased the bears out of the area in Taiga, Finland - also known
as the Boreal or Snow Forest - after the bears attempted a raid on
carrion left in their territory.
Wildlife
photographer Craig Jones spent fourteen hours a night in a hide just
metres away from the animals to capture the whole encounter on camera.
The alpha male wolf dodges a brown bears defensive swipe in July 2016, in Kuikka, Finland
Three
wolves chase a brown bear out of their territory in July 2016, in
Kuikka, Finland as they outsmarted a sleuth of brown bears by swooping
in to grab their lunch
A wolf and a bear look peaceful in the
midst of their territorial battle where wolves chased the bears out of
the area in Taiga, Finland - also known as the Boreal or Snow Forest -
after the bears attempted a raid on carrion left in their territory
Wildlife photographer Craig Jones
spent fourteen hours a night in a hide just metres away from the animals
to capture the whole encounter on camera
Craig
said: 'What I observed was that the wolves would come as a pack of four
and they would stand and watch, one would fade into the background,
almost following the bears like a ghost.
'They
watched and studied them. Then they followed the bears, rounded them up
and diverted them away so they could get hold of the food.'
The
wolves rounded on the bears and drove them away from the food, but
their encounter was not entirely peaceful and one bear took a hefty
swing at a wolf trying to nip at his heels.
Staffordshire-based
Craig added: 'It felt absolutely amazing to witness these events, these
bears attacking the wolves had not been witnessed like this for some
time.
'We
were very lucky on our last night with all those attacks. I was told
the wolves were quite hungry and they wanted the bears out of the way.
'The alpha male and female run after the bears and split them up to get them away from the food.
'Where the carrion is put is primarily in the wolves territory, so it is the bears coming into the territory.
'They will tolerate them sometimes, but as the photos show, not all the time.'
Photographer Craig Jones said: 'What I
observed was that the wolves would come as a pack of four and they
would stand and watch, one would fade into the background, almost
following the bears like a ghost,' as a wolf flanks a brown bear in
Kuikka, Finland
'They watched and studied them. Then
they followed the bears, rounded them up and diverted them away so they
could get hold of the food,' said the Staffordshire-based snapper
The wolves rounded on the bears and
drove them away from the food, but their encounter was not entirely
peaceful and one bear took a hefty swing at a wolf trying to nip at his
heels
Craig was also lucky enough to witness
some internal fighting amongst the brown bears, with two brown bears
taking swings at one another in a dispute
'It felt absolutely amazing to
witness these events, these bears attacking the wolves had not been
witnessed like this for some time,' said Craig Jones
The photographer added: 'The alpha
male and female run after the bears and split them up to get them away
from the food. 'Where the carrion is put is primarily in the wolves
territory, so it is the bears coming into the territory. 'They will
tolerate them sometimes, but as the photos show, not all the time.'
Craig
was also lucky enough to witness some internal fighting amongst the
brown bears, with two brown bears taking swings at one another in a
dispute.
The
territory lies in a demilitarised zone between Russia and Finland where
bears and wolves roam free safe from hunters as the zone requires a
permit to access it.
Jones
ventured to Finland with his clients, who he takes on photo tours while
passing on his lessons in photography, to capture the animals in their
natural environment.
Spending
five nights locked in the hide with nothing but a couple of mattresses
and a compost bin for a toilet, Craig captured the animals during their
most active hours in the twenty-four light of Finnish summer.
The territory lies in a demilitarised
zone between Russia and Finland where bears and wolves roam free safe
from hunters as the zone requires a permit to access it
Jones ventured to Finland with his
clients, who he takes on photo tours while passing on his lessons in
photography, to capture the animals in their natural environment
Spending five nights locked in the
hide with nothing but a couple of mattresses and a compost bin for a
toilet, Craig captured the animals during their most active hours in the
twenty-four light of Finnish summer
Although the estimated 1,500 bears living in Finland are treated with reverence, wolves do not enjoy the same treatment
Although the estimated 1,500 bears living in Finland are treated with reverence, wolves do not enjoy the same treatment.
The
wildlife photographer said: 'Unlike the fox and bear, the wolf has
always been feared and hated in Finland, and the wolf has been the
symbol of destruction and desolation.
'To
the extent that the very name of wolf in Finnish language, 'sushi',
means also 'a useless thing' and the by-name hukka means perdition and
annihilation.
'While the bear has been the sacred animal in Finland, wolves have always been hunted and killed mercilessly.
'The wolf has been represented as implacable and malicious predator, killing more than it manages to eat.'
The wildlife photographer said:
'Unlike the fox and bear, the wolf has always been feared and hated in
Finland, and the wolf has been the symbol of destruction and
desolation.'
While the bear has been the sacred animal in Finland, wolves have always been hunted and killed mercilessly
The name of wolf in Finnish language,
'sushi', means also 'a useless thing' and the by-name hukka means
perdition and annihilation
In an effort to dispel rumours that
wolves are stealing livestock, Finnish photographer Lassi Rautiainen is
working with scientists and the Finnish government to tag wolves in
order to study their movements
A brown bear pads through the undergrowth as the wolves divert the bears away from their territory in Kuikka, Finland
In
an effort to dispel rumours that wolves are stealing livestock, Finnish
photographer Lassi Rautiainen is working with scientists and the
Finnish government to tag wolves in order to study their movements.
Craig said: 'He is trying to keep them alive rather than submitting to all the silly folk tales about wolves.'
To find out more about Craig Jones' work and photo tours visit: https://www.craigjoneswildlifephotography.co.uk
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