Arctic Animals of Ranua Zoo

Measuring my height against the height
 of a Polar Bear standing up.
Photo Credit: Aleksina Seppä

Hello Readers,

This past weekend I got to go to the Ranua Zoo. I didn't do a lot of research on the zoo prior to going, so it was nice to see that the entire zoo housed animals you can find in the arctic rather then that of typical zoos I have visited in the past.

This trip was made available with my housing company here. The price was very cheap only 10€ and included the bus to and from Rovaniemi. Usually the zoo costs between 15€ to 18.50€ plus the bus which is about 50€ if you want picked up at your hotel. It can be quite expensive to attend.

In Finland the only place to see Polar Bears is the Ranua Wildlife Park. Many of the animals at Ranua Zoo are endangered in their natural habitat so seeing them here is one way to still enjoy these animals while you can.

You walk the entire zoo through the wooden trails - or slightly snow-covered wooden trails. The trails are one way, as you start you follow the arrows and once you have completed the approximately 2.8km walk you are back where you started. There are maps available when purchasing your tickets as well as there are signs throughout the park. At most of the animals there are different facts about them, like their size and what they like to eat. 

Polar Bear, Muskox, Arctic Fox, Great Grey Owl and Wild Boar. Some of the Animals you can find at the Ranua Zoo.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby - Created the Collage through Free App Pic Collage.

The best time to attend the Zoo would probably be in May, June or July as the animals are just beginning to start the spring process right now - the brown bears were still sleeping since their bodies feel like they should be hibernating. Also, in summer you can find many baby animals in Ranua Zoo. In the past there have been two cases of polar bear babies that have survived being born in the zoo.

 Bye for now..

Nörds Ice Hockey

Hey Readers,

Alex and I at the Arena Photo Credit: Aleksina Seppä

Yesterday, April 7, 2018, I was looking for something to do. I checked the Visit Rovaniemi website and I found out that there was a Ice Hockey tournament at Lappi Areena for the weekend. It was called Nörds on Ice 2018. A free event to attend but the level of hockey was not obvious. I read that it was just forbidden to be a player in the 3-division and upper tiers of the Finnish Hockey Leagues.


The tournament was a two day event that started Friday Night (which I did not attend, as I did not know about it), I attended some of the games in the afternoon on Saturday. The games were 45 minutes long, and at the end players of the game were announced. There was a no slap-shots and body-checks rule on the tournament, which made the talent of the players shine through. A few of the teams were from Rovaniemi while others were from Helsinki and Oulu.

HockIt Beta vs Fortinet
HockIt from Rovaniemi Won 5-1
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

In the end the defending champions HC Tieto from Oulu won the tournament again. This did not surprise me since the earlier game of theirs I watched they won against one of the Rovaniemi HockIt teams 13-2. HC Tieto was a team of only 11 players while other teams had 15-20 players. With only 11 players that allowed them two full lines and a goalie, not a lot of time for rest between shifts but their endurance for the 45minutes allowed them to dominate the tournament.

I was happy to be able to watch this, though there weren't a lot of spectators at the arena (I believe lack of advertising was the problem). I hope to keep my eyes peeled for more things like this here in the city. It was a afternoon of quick and eventful games.

Stay tuned for another blog coming soon as Saturday April 14th I will be going to Ranua Zoo. I am hoping to see the polar bear and its baby from last year (won't be much of a baby now). It was the second baby polar bear born in a Zoo in Finland that has survived.

Bye for now...