My name is Joni Valkila, I come from Helsinki and I enjoy spending time outdoors. This is me in the photo, indoors, thinking I should be outdoors. (And in case you're wondering—Joni is a man's name in Finland, even though it’s often a woman’s name in the English-speaking world.)

I have been interested in nature since I was about two years old. This led to nature hobbies of all kinds and studying environmental protection at the University of Helsinki. Some of my favorite activities include hiking in the far north of Finland, snorkling in Finnish lakes and mushroom hunting. I started doing nature photography in 2015 and this led to the idea moose safaris which I started in 2016. It has been great to meet nature enthusiasts from around the world and share the experience of seeing beautiful landscapes and animals. It is an interesting experience also to run a tiny business.

I also have a daytime job and a PhD in social sciences. These are unrelated to wildlife or photography. As an activist, I'm involved in an organization called Rewilding Finland. We promote the idea that we should have wilder nature. This includes more large animals which we used to have in much greater numbers before people wiped them out on a global scale. We have suggested that European bison and wild horses should be returned to Finnish nature and that large predators have an important role in nature and should be allowed to increase in numbers. Finland has wild nature and many species which have disappeared elsewhere, but even here some of these animals such as large predators are very rare and are being hunted both legally and illegally. 

I hope that in the future you can visit a national park in Finland where you can see not only moose, but also bison, wild horses, aurochs (the wild ancestor of cows which still exists in the genes of domesticated animals), red deer, wild boar, beaver, eagle, forest reindeer, wolf, bear, wolverine, and lynx. We could have a taste of what Europe looked like thousands of years ago when it was like Serengeti of the north with rhinos, mammoths, lions, and hyenas.

It is always a delight to see a large animal in the wild. Sadly it is not a very common experience anywhere on the planet: it has been estimated that 96% of the biomass of all mammals is made up of humans and domesticated animals. Only 4% are wild animals and only a fraction of these are wild animals which are also large. 

Surprisingly many wild animals can be found close to Helsinki. Here you can feel a little less alone on a planet that has lost so many of its giants. You might want to learn more about wildlife near Helsinki and my nature photography here: https://www.instagram.com/joni_valkila

Looking forward to meeting you on Moose Safari!