It’s not something to put on Instagram. It’s when you’re out in the landscape and you don’t see a single reindeer, or a moose. Or at home, looking out the window at the snow – not a single arctic hare. Very few birds too.
And yet, this is a good feeling – we here, and the animals and birds, not here. They’re hidden in the bare birch forest, feeding out on the bogland, nibbling away at what’s at their feet, in their own quiet hidden places.
Visitors will be disappointed. The tourist office will have to get out that moose costume to entertain them on the ‘Wildlife Tour’. Apologies will be made no doubt, for their misfortune.
But the misfortune is entirely theirs, because the animals and birds are where they should be, hidden from sight. We see them when food is scarce, and this winter it isn’t. The far north of Sweden has had less snow than usual so the depth is penetrable, and the timing of occasional snow thawing – which then refreezes creating very hard layers – has been good, so animals can still paw their way through to or reach out to their food, and birds can see what they can eat.
Not seeing something isn’t always considered a misfortune. Consider the brown bear for instance. We’ve seen the poo, but not the bear. Bears are widespread in this area, but never seen, and for this we are always thankful.
