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The elk, Alces alces, is an iconic animal for Sweden – a symbol of the wild, a symbol of the majesty and dignity of Sweden’s natural areas. The elk holds a particular fascination for overseas visitors, though in Sweden it is in fact one of the country’s most common wild animals. During the summer, when populations are at their height, there are around 350,000 elk distributed across the country, an average of 10-15 elk per 1,000 hectares. Of these, just under one third will be culled annually during the autumn elk hunting season, and elk is a popular meat throughout Sweden. Despite prolific hunting, elk populations continue to increase across the country. By the early 19th century, elk had become practically extinct in Sweden due to unregulated hunting and predation, but since tighter controls were introduced, populations have risen steadily.
Photo: Lars Gabrielsson
A fully-grown adult elk will eat between 10 and 12kg of food a day, and an incredible 15-30kg during the summer. As herbivores, about half of the elk’s diet is pine, and during the winter an adult elk can consume 5,000 pine trees! Such voracious appetites may put pressure on some local ecosystems, and so managing the elk populations of Sweden has become necessary to protect fragile habitats.
Mating occurs in early September, with the males vying for access to the females in dramatic antler clashes, and calving season for the elk is May and June, when one or two calves are born each weighing 10-15kg. These young calves, which are born reddish-brown but later develop a grey-brown coat, will stay with their mother until the next breeding season, when they will be driven off to make way for the new calves. By November, when they will be eating only solid food, the young elk will already weigh 130-150kg. This rapid weight gain stands them in good stead to survive the coming winter.
Photo: Bob Carter
Once fully grown, a bull can weigh anything up to 800kg, and a cow around 450kg on average. Only bulls have antlers, which are shed each year during the winter. Every year up to the age of around 10, bulls will add extra points, or tines, to their antlers. Some feel that hunting pressure on those bulls with the largest antlers has led to a decrease in quality of the elk gene pool, and debate is ongoing about how best to reconcile the interests of the hunters with the conservation lobby. Elks that manage to avoid the hunters can live to be 25 years old in the wild.
Photo: Roine Magnusson
Like those of other deer species, elk antlers are covered with a velvety skin while they are growing. Filled with blood vessels, this skin provides the antlers with everything necessary for growth. Once the antlers are fully developed, the elk will shed the velvet by rubbing the antlers against trees and bushes. Although the pace of growth, especially for a large set of antlers, is truly astonishing, closer inspection reveals that antlers are not the solid objects one might imagine. Rather, they are porous inside, with only a hard external coating to stand up to the rigours of combat.
Despite their size, elks are wonderfully graceful animals, moving quietly and fluidly through the deep forests and across the open fields in between. Elk can often be spotted standing quietly in open spaces at the edge of a forest as the evening sun sets. Elk are also accomplished swimmers, and in the archipelago areas can sometimes be seen striking out between the islands.
Photo: Joop Bierling
Our Elk Safari Adventure offers intimate encounters with the elk of Bergslagen, an area where elk outnumber the human population! From your base in an authentic charcoaler settlement, an experienced elk guide will take you deep into the surrounding forests to meet the King of the Forest in its natural habitat!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Visit our website www.naturetravels.co.uk for more wildlife holidays in Sweden.
The lynx is Europe’s largest wild feline – the ”tiger of the north”! In Sweden, the lynx is the third most common large predator. Population estimates vary, but out of a total Scandinavian population of around 2000, approximately 1500 are thought to live in Sweden. Second is the brown bear. Top of the list? Humans of course!
Despite the fact that lynx roam over an extremely wide territory, there are relatively few people in Sweden who have ever seen one in the wild. Lynx are shy and elusive creatures. However, slowly but surely, lynx populations have begun to increase and the distribution of the species across the country is widening. Hopefully, more and more people in Sweden will one day have the opportunity to see this beautiful and majestic animal in its natural habitat.
Lynx are currently found in many areas of Sweden, especially in the northern and central regions. The lynx is now once again expanding its territory southward to colonise its former homelands in the counties of Småland, Halland, Västergötland, Sörmland, Uppland and Östergötland.
Are lynx dangerous to humans?
Olof Liberg, a researcher responsible for lynx research in Sweden, has this story to tell: “Over a period of years we have regularly been in areas where adult lynx females have had cubs, without the lynx attacking us. In these circumstances the mother can be extremely fearless and aggressive, growling and pacing back and forth just 10 metres away. It is hard to imagine a more provocational situation for a lynx, and despite this the animal did not attack, which should be convincing proof that lynx are totally harmless to humans.”
Robert Franzén, of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, says, “There have been number of tales of lynx attacks, but no documented cases, since lynx keep themselves at a distance if not directly attacked.”
Lynx tracks
A lynx paw makes a clear round print if compared to a canine track, which is more oval. Lynx tracks are often mistaken for wolves. A sure way to tell is to look at the relationship between the pads. In clear lynx tracks one can see that the toes lie asymetrically, that is to say they project different distances forward. Lynx tracks are usually 7-10cm in size, with the front paws being somewhat larger than the back.
Lynx sounds
With a little luck you may hear lynx calling to each other during the mating season, especially during March and April, though sometimes also in January. The calls come in a series of twenty to thirty hooting sounds not unlike an owl, beginning weak but becoming louder. While running the female may also cry out like a fox to maintain contact with a partner.
On the whole lynx are generally quiet animals, but may growl when angry. They may also produce mewling sounds like a domestic cat when afraid. Mothers communicate with cubs by means of birdlike piping sounds. Both young and old lynx also purr just like domestic cats.
The Future of the Lynx in Sweden
While populations are increasing and expanding slowly in Sweden, not everyone is on the side of the lynx. With careful conservation and improved understanding of this wonderful predator, we very much hope that the future of the lynx in Sweden will be a bright one!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Nature Travels offers a variety of wildlife and outdoor holidays in Sweden, many of which take place in lynx strongholds. For further details please see our website at www.naturetravels.co.uk
Sweden is a wonderful destination for walking and trekking, with excellent hiking to be had the length and breadth of this vast country, from rich cultural heritage areas in the south to the wild expanses of the mountains to the north – a land of big skies, wide horizons and wild open spaces.
Despite its diversity, Sweden remains a largely undiscovered and little-known hiking destination for UK travellers. Did you know, for example, that Sweden has Europe’s largest area of wilderness? That summer temperatures rise to the high twenties? That a hiker in Sweden has the chance bathe in a lake, river, bay or stream almost every day?
Photo: Annika and Torkel Ideström
Whether your idea of a walking holiday is two weeks under canvas in the rugged pathless wilderness of Sarek National Park, or gentle day-tours through rolling meadows to end the day with a home-cooked farmhouse dinner, Sweden has something for everyone, from experienced trekkers to families with children.
Sweden has a number of well-marked and accessible long distance trails. There are around 50 major trails criss-crossing the country, and you can choose to end your day at a youth hostel, bed and breakfast, or small hotel, or pitch your own tent and camp wild. The better-known trails have mountain cabins spaced roughly a day’s walk apart. These may be manned or unmanned, and some may sell simple provisions, and though basic these cabins comfortable and usually surprisingly homely.
Photo: Annika and Torkel Ideström
Sweden is one of the few places left in Europe where it is possible to really escape from civilisation. Hiking in the Swedish mountains has been compared to walking in the Alps, Himalayas or Andes, but as the mountain ranges are much older than, for example, the Alps, the landscape has been eroded to produce the characteristic wide undulating mountain plains.
Photo: Anders Dahlin Naturfoto
Sweden has magnificent scenery, fresh air and clean water – and something very precious in the modern world: tranquility. You may find the silence broken only by the cry of an eagle, the hooting of an owl or the bark of an elk.
Photo: Anders Dahlin Naturfoto
With low-cost flights from many UK airports and an excellent public transport system, Sweden is both accessible and affordable, a perfect playground for outdoor and nature enthusiasts. Thanks to the “Every Man’s Right” system of public access, wild camping is possible throughout the country, allowing a unique freedom to explore the country’s large tracts of wilderness. True get-away-from-it-all experiences are possible in Sweden.
Photo: Anders Dahlin Naturfoto
Nature Travels is the UK specialist for wildlife and outdoor experiences in Sweden, offering a wide range of year-round responsible travel experiences and ecotourism holidays suitable for independents, families and groups – see our range of hiking holidays in Sweden at www.naturetravels.co.uk
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
