Brown Bears, Finland

Dominic is a Naturetrek tour leader and one of Britain's
best known and most prolific natural history writers.

In some parts of the world, mammals teem over plains and grassland, or adorn the forest canopy in remarkable density and variety. Europe, however, offers a somewhat different prospect. Rarely does it provide easy viewing, but it more than makes up for this by the thrill and intensity of searching for and seeing exciting and iconic characters. Looking down the following tours, there are star names such as Iberian and Eurasian Lynx, Brown Bear, Wolverine, Grey Wolf, Wildcat, European Bison, Elk and Pine Marten. All are elusive, some vanishingly so, but while it might require long patient hours to see them, the adrenaline rush of finally spying those mammals you have dreamt about, is something that is hard to describe. This selection of tours spans the continent, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, and from the deep forests of the Eurasian hinterland to the open sea. They vary a great deal, but each tour is a unique adventure.

The Iberian Lynx is the world’s rarest cat, once on the brink of extinction but now, thanks to conservation measures, up to about 400 individuals. This gorgeous animal is elusive but, by spending long hours over six days in its two remaining enclaves, the Coto Doñana and Sierra Morena, it is usually possible to have an encounter. Even if you miss it, these are two of Spain’s loveliest regions. Doñana is still a wild tapestry of marshes, sand dunes and open Stone Pine woodlands, while the Sierra Morena is a throwback to a more rural Spain, with its wooded hills, streams and meadows. Much time will be spent watching and waiting, often from scenic lookouts, while the rest of southern Spain’s rich wildlife passes by.

Days: 6 

Price: £1,195

Situated in the extreme south-east of Poland, little-known Bieszczady National Park is one of the last places on the continent where there is still a relatively intact wild assemblage of large predators. Spending time here allows for the possibility of seeing Brown Bear, Wolf, Wildcat and Pine Marten. Also, if you are incredibly lucky, it also affords the chance of an encounter with that most elusive predator of all, the Eurasian Lynx, the ‘Phantom of the Forest’. This tour, filled up with dawn and dusk drives and spotlighting into the depths of the night, will help you get to know this wilderness of forest, meadow and hills in a unique way. By day, you also get the chance to look for Eurasian Bison!

Days: 8 

Price: £1,895

Central Sweden boasts some huge forests, where many exciting mammals still roam in impressive numbers, famously outnumbering the small human population. On this tour we range deep into the Bergslagen, often undertaking long and satisfying walks in the company of local guides that know the area intimately. Indeed, Marcus Eldh will even attempt to call up the local Wolves for us, by howling while we enjoy a campfire dinner. We spend a day looking for Elk (Moose) in the ‘royal forests’, we venture on an electric boat in Eurasian Beaver habitat, and spend a night in a special Bear hide in Halsingland, surely the most comfortable way to see this great predator in the wild!

Days: 5 

Price: £1,695

The Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the westernmost tip of the UK mainland, is nothing less than the best place for mammal-watching in Britain. Several species that are hard to see elsewhere, such as Pine Martens and Otters, are common here; the former even visit the garden of our accommodation. The hills, coasts and woods have large populations of Roe, Fallow and Red Deer, and in autumn the rut can be spectacular. The rich seas around the peninsula are excellent for cetaceans such as Harbour Porpoise, Bottlenose and Common Dolphins and Minke Whale, and we will enjoy a day on a boat to look for them. We even have a faint chance of seeing a Scottish Wildcat, perhaps on a night’s spotlighting trip.

Days: 8 

Price: £1,395

How’s this for an ice-breaker in the office after a long weekend? “I went to Finland to watch wild bears.” It is surprisingly easy to get to the Finnish taiga, just short of the Arctic Circle on the border with Russia, to enjoy a magical couple of days under the midnight sun and relish a whole night in a comfortable hide, watching one of the world’s largest carnivores at play. For this tour we visit Martinselkosen Wilds Centre, where up to 20 of these magnificent beasts may be viewable from the log cabin turned bear hides in a single night, and up to 10 at a time. There are chances to see birds during the day, and the occasional other predator, such as Wolverine, can make a guest appearance.

Days: 4 

Price: £1,195

This eclectic trip really is three tours in one. The journey to Spain is on a ferry crossing the famous Bay of Biscay, thronged with dolphins, porpoises and whales, which should produce a great start. The tour then plunges into the rolling hills and broad valleys of lush northern Spain, where there is a dense population of Wolves around Zamora in the Cantabrian Mountains. We exchange deck-watching for long sessions scanning the countryside from strategic vantage points. Finally, we travel north to Samieda National Park where Brown Bears are relatively common. In the autumn they come out at dawn and dusk to feed on the abundant fruits and nuts of the season and, with luck, we will see these too.

Days: 10

Price: £1,695

You might not immediately guess that northern Spain is the major stronghold of the Wolf in Europe, but 2,500-3,000 occur in the country, almost all in the north, especially the Cordillera Cantábrica. This is a remote part of Spain, where the human population has dwindled as people moved to the cities, leaving many mountain villages abandoned to the wildlife, which also includes Wildcat, Beech Marten, Chamois and Iberian Hare. The Wolf is the main draw for this 5-day tour, but it is famously elusive, and a sighting inevitably stems from long scans from lookout points. Still, more than 80% of tours are successful, and have the added bonus of comfortable accommodation and delicious locally sourced food.

Days: 5

Price: £995

The forests of Finland provide a midsummer mammal marvel. The targets here range from the very rare Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of the few freshwater seals in the world, confined to Lake Saimaa for the last 9,500 years, to the tiny Siberian Flying Squirrel, which peeps out of a tree-hole at dusk. Several nights we stay in hides, right in the middle of the territories of three great icons, the Wolf, Brown Bear and Wolverine, which come to bait. All three are possible on this tour, along with commoner species such as Red Squirrel and various deer. Above all we become enveloped by this deep, peaceful forested wilderness, where human activities and worries seem a very long way away.

Days: 8

Price: £2,995

The Wolverine of the northern forests of Europe isn’t the same as the Wolverine in the X-Men movies, but it certainly has the X-factor. A formidable carnivore, the world’s largest member of the Mustelid family (along with Badgers and Weasels), it is one of the continent’s most elusive animals, forever on the move, ranging many miles a night on its insatiable quest for food. A forest near a quiet village on Finland’s border with Russia is one of the very few places where you stand a chance of seeing it – and in a comfortable hide, to boot. On this tour you spend two full summer nights in prime Wolverine territory, where the local animals have learnt that meat is provided. It is a unique experience in the taiga wilderness.

Days: 4

Price: £1,395

If you like bats, you will love this trip. Away from relatively impoverished Britain, central Europe has a rich and varied assemblage of bats, and on this tour into Hungary’s karst landscape, pitted with caves, cloaked with forests and with many old buildings, you have a chance of seeing 20 or more species. What’s more, some will be roosting and others we will catch in nets to get incomparable close-up views. There are many other mammals hereabouts and the trip includes a check of dormouse boxes (Hazel, Edible and Forest Dormice are possible), and traps for other rodents and shrews. There are deer, Wild Boar and many other mammals, too. It’s an unusual tour into what could be an unexpected mammal paradise.

Days: 8

Price: £1,895