53-year-old photographer Dionys Moser has captured these adorable photos of brown bear cubs with their mothers in a Finland forest. Moser arranges a photography tour of the taiga forest in Finland in late June and early July, when the mother bears come out with their young after a long winter hibernation. The area along the Finnish-Russian border is considered one of the largest nature reserves in Europe. About 1,800 bears along with birds, reindeer, and wolves live there. The photography trip can result in some once-in-a-lifetime shots like these where young bear cubs are seen playing with one another or hanging out with their protective mother.
Moser started his tours seven years ago. There is always a ranger accompanying photographers on their adventure. When they reach one of the designated places to hide, they must stay there from 5pm to 7am, waiting for bears to pass right in front of them. “Sometimes the bears come quite close to you, especially the young cubs when they're searching for food. They can be as close as one meter from you or less!”
As for their personalities, he says, “Bear cubs are very curious! They want to check whether something is edible or not. Even when they are only 30 centimeters in height, when standing, it is possible to recognize their different characters! Some are more shy than others.
“In fact, bears are very shy. If you clap you hands or if there's a loud noise, they will run away. You can only find bears in places where there is food like fish, berries, or carrion. If they're living in their natural habitat, they can easily find their own food and so will not disturb us.”
