A moose right in front of us! An evening walk in Kärkelä, Finland

An October evening stroll in the old ironworks village of Kärkelä took an unexpected turn when a young moose waded into Lake Sikajärvi right before our eyes – and my camera just happened to be rolling already.

• Kärkelä on the map

Kärkelä is a small but lovely old ironworks village on the border of Salo and Lohja. There are no tourist services here, but I sometimes come just to stroll around the village. It’s perfect for a quick breath of fresh air when my eyes crave something especially beautiful and my feet want easy going – in other words, the edge of a gravel road. Little gravel roads meander this way and that through Kärkelä, and the charming old buildings create a picture-postcard atmosphere. The village is dominated by a handsome old horse stable. Horses and ponies are often grazing in the pastures, and you’ll meet riders along the gravel roads. The buildings are privately owned and used as homes and holiday cottages, so as a visitor I always try to be respectful: I don’t peek through windows or photograph people’s yards.

Rapids restored where the old dam once stood

One October evening, my husband and I set off once again on our familiar walk. It was sunny and beautiful, and already rather crisp, with the temperature only just above freezing. Sunday was quickly turning into evening, but there was still time for a short walk in the daylight.

This time we headed to see the site of the old dam. The dam was recently removed, and rapids have been restored in its place for migratory fish. We first walked down to the bank of the rapids and then climbed onto the bridge to look at them from above. On one side of the bridge the rapids rushed and roared; on the other, Lake Sikajärvi lay perfectly still.

The mirror-like surface of the lake reflected the surrounding yellow-leaved trees in perfect detail, and the last rays of the evening sun bathed the whole landscape in gold. The view was so photogenic that I decided to film a video of it for Instagram.

A moose steps into the frame

Midway through filming – just as I had turned the camera away from the lake towards a lane lined with deciduous trees – my husband silently pointed towards the water. A moose had stepped into the lake right in front of us! I quickly swung the camera back towards the lake and the animal, and we both held our breath so as not to startle it. The still surface of the lake perfectly mirrored the dark brown moose, which had a few points on each antler.

We watched in silence as the moose climbed ashore, its white legs emerging from the water. It shook the water from its coat and clearly hadn’t noticed us. It’s worth noting that a large set of rapids was roaring right below us, drowning out our voices so the moose couldn’t hear us – and the splash of the moose entering the water so we couldn’t hear it.

I don’t think I had ever seen a moose quite this close, and I started to feel just a little bit nervous. Autumn is the moose rutting season, and we remembered that in Lapland reindeer can be unpredictable during the rut. So, just to be safe, we moved over to a large tree growing nearby. If the moose became agitated, we could use the tree as cover – something we had learned in Lapland to do in an emergency.

The moose wandered for a while in the lakeside forest. Once again, it was astonishing how such a large animal can disappear almost completely into the woods, even when it isn’t far away at all. When the moose finally spotted us, it bolted and never came back.

Afterwards, we agreed that neither of us had ever heard of a moose attacking a person out of the blue like that. Moose usually avoid people, but keeping a calm distance is always the wise choice – especially during the rut. Moose are also hunted at this time of year, so it’s understandable if they see people as a threat and want to defend themselves.

We marvelled at our incredible luck. A few seconds either way and we would have missed the whole sight. And the camera just happened to be on already!

What an amazing encounter. We wish the young moose all the very best!

This article was translated from Finnish into English using AI.

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