Update from our brown bear conservation expedition in Dalarna, Sweden
Our efficiency drive continues and we have only six bear dens left to do in our study site. There are fewer dens this year, because there was a big cull last year, so fewer bears built dens in the 2025/2026 season.
But our scientist Andrea has plenty of work for us, so we are also retrieving camera traps and temperature loggers from the field for her. The camera traps take pictures of animals and the temperature loggers are left in the dens over the winter to record temperatures inside. Once retrieved, Andrea can download months worth of data from them.
Logging and bear conservation
The sterling effort prize goes to yesterday’s group 3. They were down as “medium effort” on the task board…
They reached their site after a fairly long drive and found a steep slope devastated by clear-cutting. The den was somewhere half way up the slope.
So on they went on their obstacle course, climbing over tree trunks, slowly, slowly, slowly making it up the hill and down again. Nine hours later, they were back and still smiling. Well done.
They made it and found a small rock den, just large enough for the smallest person on the team to get into it to take measurements.
Quaking bogs
The other two teams had quaking bogs to contend with. Perhaps straight out of Wuthering Heights or Lord of the Rings, without the mist and misery, as the sun was shining. So they walked on sodden soil of moss and grass that floats on water. The ground squishes with every step. Walking sticks disappear without a trace into the puddles in between.
And somewhere on higher, drier ground, amongst the pine and the birch and the spruce, dug into the soil or an anthill, sitting in the sunshine, dotted with berry shrubs, is another den with a temperature logger in it, waiting to be retrieved by our intrepid citizen scientists.
Lakes beckon
Then perhaps a lake beckons for a lunch break. The icy water takes your breath away, but makes your skin feel amazing for hours afterwards. Later perhaps an ice cream at the petrol station and then back to base for a rest as team 3 still struggles through their trunky maze. Thank you for your efforts.
Read also: First I second I third I fourth diary entry of the Sweden brown bear conservation expedition . All Sweden 2026 diary entries on one page.
Author: Matthias Hammer
Biosphere Expeditions was founded in 1999 by Dr. Matthias Hammer. Born in Germany, he went to school there, before joining the Army, and serving for several years amongst other units with the German Parachute Regiment. After active service he came to the UK and was educated at St Andrews, Oxford and Cambridge. During his time at university he either organised or was involved in the running of several expeditions, some of which were conservation expeditions (for example to the Brazil Amazon and Madagascar), whilst others were mountaineering/climbing expeditions (for example to the Russian Caucasus, the Alps or the Rocky Mountains). With Biosphere Expeditions he has led teams all over the globe. He is a qualified wilderness medical officer, ski instructor, mountain leader, divemaster and survival skills instructor. Once a rower on the international circuit, an amateur marathon runner and Ironman triathlete, he now enjoys less extreme pursuits such as writing and long-distance walks in the wild.