I was lucky enough to be able to make my first trip to Finland and Ähtäri Zoo during the winter of 2019 to see the Snowpandas in the snow – and this experience of seeing pandas very quickly jumped to the top of my list of panda things to do! It was such a highlight to see the pandas rolling and playing in such deep snow, and it was great to visit a new country to see it – this was my first time in Finland, I’m definitely going to have to go back not only to see the pandas again but also to visit in the rest of the country. On this trip I was lucky to travel with another panda-loving friend which meant it was an easy agreement that we would just panda-watch for all 3 days of our trip! I ended up taking over 2000 photos on this trip, which is just ridiculous, this is a hugely cut down selection and is still a lot for one post!
The Snowpanda House was built new for the giant pandas, and is one of the main buildings of the zoo, which you enter through to get into the rest of the zoo. It’s modern, but somehow seems very fitting to the landscape, and looked great in the snow. You enter the panda area inside, which is a large open space and is the indoor enclosure to both giant pandas. The set up is a little similar to in Ouwehands, where you are looking down into the panda enclosure, however here there is only a small glass wall between you and the panda. The pandas are not fully enclosed, so you get an excellent view of them and can here every bite and crunch of bamboo (which I love^). The space is banked, with a flat floor at the front space, where the pandas can access off-show and also the door to the outside – this was very interesting as the doors are on motion detectors, the panda just had to walk close enough and the door would open for them, which is good to keep the cold out. The male and female were on opposite sides of the building, and each enclosure had platforms and trees etc. of different heights, I think if they were each up high enough they would be able to see each other across the space. In between the two enclosures was a seating space with some information boards – there really is a lot of space for many people. We were there on both weekdays and a Saturday in January and while it was busier on the weekend, it was still very quiet in comparison to other zoos/pandas I’ve visited. This was great for us as we pretty much had the pandas to ourselves for around 50% of our time.
The pandas of course also each have outdoor enclosures, these are pretty large and open spaces. There is one walkway going around both outdoor enclosures and can be accessed from each side of the panda house. The snow had banked up quite a lot on the surrounding fence, so it was a little tricky to see over at points. There were also some areas of glass along the fence which would be perfect viewing points for kids, just not in the snow! From the walkway you could also access the entrance to the rest of the zoo, or access the panda house from the rest of the zoo. It was easy to go between the inside and outside viewing when the pandas were going in and out – we just made sure to take off our coats/scarves/hats when going in so we would feel the benefit when going back out into the -15 to -20 degrees celcius weather!
Hua Bao / Pyry
Hua Bao, also known by the Finnish name Pyry, is the male panda at Ähtäri Zoo. He was born on the 10th of July 2013 and was 5.5 years old at the time of my visit. On the first day we were there Hua Bao spent most of the time sleeping, and of course doing a little eating. But on the second morning the keeper had put some treats (it looked like carrot) outside on the climbing frame and in a wooden enrichment block so Hua Bao spent a good time outside exploring to make sure he’d gotten all the snacks on offer! He spent much more time outside the second day and made good use of his climbing frame and all of the different aspects to it – it’s definitely one of the more extensive climbing structures I’ve seen built for pandas and it sure looks fun!
Inside there were also some climbing options, such as this tall tree which has been bolted indoors for climbing. The wood is well worn, so I think it’s a favourite place to climb – and he was up here in seconds! The height is pretty much at viewing height for people, which is again something I don’t think I’ve seen much elsewhere. And of course inside was for eating, all the bamboo was placed around the inside enclosure for him in a range of places, there was a wooden round with bamboo propped up in it and some of the rocks and undulations in the floor of the enclosure made for good spots to lean on whilst enjoying his food^ There was also a stream carved to run through the enclosure which is a common feature to include.
One other thing that we were so lucky to see was in the outdoor enclosure and the interactions between the two of them. The divide between the two enclosures was mostly rock-based, however there were a few sections with fencing, perhaps a foot between the male and female fences. This meant they could see each other and have some interactions through the fence – which they seemed to really enjoy. At one point it really looked like the female was doing her best to try and climb over to get to her playmate on the other side of the fence! Sometimes if one of them was outside, they would immediately go over to the fence to look for their friend, and then run between inside and outside wondering where the other was. It’s interesting to see a relationship and some familiarity being built up which will be important when it comes to trying to mate in the future.
Jin Baobao / Lumi
Jin Baobao, or in Finnish Lumi, is the female at Ähtäri Zoo and she was born on the 20th of September 2014, so was 4.5 years old on my visit. She really is a cute panda! She was a little of a show-off, she slept a lot less than Hua Bao and spent more time both eating and playing outside. She was also quite the poser, I got a lot of super cute shots where it looks like she’s looking right at me! Enclosure-wise she had a very similar set up, inside there was the same size of space with platforms to climb on, a stream and pool, and rocks and undulations on the surface for leaning against and propping bamboo on. She also made use of her tall tree, and like Hua Bao she could scale it in seconds.
Jin Baobao spent much more time outside, and she also went out to play in the snow everyday. She had at least 3 or 4 different enrichment toys – we also only saw each toy once, so I think she was leaving them out/loosing them in the deep snow, so when it melted there must have been a lot of lost toys now found! She really loved rolling around with the toys in her mouth or paws, and running through the snow dragging them with her, I think it was the most adorable thing I’ve seen an adult panda every do! The outdoor enclosure is such a different space with the seasons, the snow adds such a different element and could almost be considered an enrichment item itself for the pandas – which Jin Baobao made good use of. She looked rather cute after having rolled in the snow with it all over her face.
Your Visit
Getting to Ähtäri Zoo
Ähtäri Zoo is located in the town of Ähtäri in the South Ostrobothnia region of Finland, around 4 hours North of Helsinki and 2 hours North of Tampere. I’m not a driver, but luckily travelled with a friend who is – so we drove from Helsinki airport to Ähtäri Zoo. We arrived in the evening, so split the journey by spending the night in Tampere which was approximately a 2 hour drive, then finished the journey the following morning. The roads were well cleared of snow while the forests at the roadside were covered in beautiful snow, the car we rented also came fitted with suitable tyres and there weren’t any problems driving in the conditions. There is also a train route that can be taken to Ähtäri, I’m not sure of the details, but I think it would be the only other option than driving as Ähtäri Zoo can be very much described as in the middle of nowhere (in a very good way!).
Where to stay
On our trip we stayed in the Hotel Mesikämmen which is right next to the Zoo, and stayed in the Naava Chalet complex which was made of several apartments – there were two of us in a two bedroom apartment, which had enough beds for 6 (it might be a little snug for 6 though!) and there were two bathrooms, and even a small sauna! The kitchen and living space was generous and you would easily be able to cook all meals here and have plenty of space to eat and relax. We did a combination of eating here, eating in the hotel restaurant (the food was excellent – I loved the vegan burger!) and also eating in the zoo restaurant, the SnowPanda Cafe, we had lunch here everyday and there was a great choice of super tasty food with a mix of hot meals, sandwiches and cakes/desserts. They also sold some panda souvenirs in the cafe, such as a selection of mugs, trays, and even special panda chocolate, with different flavours and named after the pandas.
In Ähtäri Zoo
Ähtäri Zoo is more than just the pandas – it was already well-established before giant pandas moved there in 2018 and is home to many species which are more natural in this area of Europe, such as bears, wolves, deers and many more. My favourite animal to see were the Eurasian Otters =) The Zoo has a very natural atmosphere, it was so peaceful and beautiful to walk around in the snow – I’m sure it would also be beautiful and lush in the Summer months too! There were two routes around the zoo, a long and short one, we did both routes on two different days. Neither took long and there were plenty of animals to see on each route – we walked around the zoo in the later afternoon and didn’t actually come across anyone else on either walk.
The zoo is open from 10AM everyday. The tickets are priced seasonally, it’s currently 36€ for the Summer season and 31€ for the Autumn/Winter, which covers the whole zoo, the farm and the giant panda house. Booking ahead online saves a few euros too.
