Swedish tours with Wolfman Jonson

Ernest Thompson Seton’s book about Lobo the Wolf was the subject of BBC 2’s Natural World recently. The book offered one of the first positive portrayals of Wolves, inspiring many naturalists, including David Attenborough, who narrated the programme. Naturetrek enlists the help of ‘Wolf Man’ and naturalist guide Marcus Jonson for its new 5-day wildlife tour exploring the dense forests and lakes of scenic Bergslagen and Hälsingland.

The tour searches out some of Sweden's larger mammals, in particular Wolf, Elk, Mountain Hare, Beaver and Brown Bear, departing London 25th June 2008.

It is just a short international flight from Stansted to Västerås and a drive of less than an hour to the tranquil and beautiful forests of central Sweden, home to such mammals as Elk, Wolf, Beaver and Brown Bear, all long since extinct in the British Isles. In this densely forested region, these larger mammals far outnumber the local human population.

Naturetrek’s guide, Marcus Jonson, lives in the forest and spends much of his time tracking and watching its four-legged inhabitants, to which he is deeply devoted.

Marcus leads travellers on foot through the forests using only animal trails, sharing his knowledge of tracking both Elk and Wolf and demonstrating various ways of communicating with them, some of which have been used by the region’s hunters for thousands of years. It is a magical experience to hear these creatures respond, in particular Marcus has had great success calling to local Wolf packs over the years.

Guests are based in the heart of the forest at a lakeside guesthouse next to a Wildlife Research Station dedicated to the conservation of species such as Wolf, Lynx and Brown Bear.

Further highlights of the holiday include joining Beaver guide Mikael Nilsson on a canoe expedition through the pristine Malingsbo-Kloten Nature Reserve, paddling silently down river at dusk, hoping to spot Beavers as they commence their evening activities.

For the final night in Sweden, guests transfer to a comfortable Bear hide amidst the lakes and rolling forested hills of Hälsingland. Here, the hide offers front row seats on bears’ nocturnal foraging together with comfortable beds for those preferring to get their heads down.

The tour costs £985 p/p including flights, transfers, accommodation, all meals and expert wildlife guiding.

For more information, visit Naturetrek.co.uk.