It takes an average of five members of staff to look after the 200 animals at Ranua Wildlife Park, and a big part of that is maintaining their enclosures. Helping lighten the load is a rear-mounted Kesla 204T loader, which, attached to a Valtra N114 Hitech tractor, is put to good use on a daily basis.

LOCATED in northern Finland, Ranua Wildlife Park is spread over an area of 40 hectares. This land is home to all of the wildlife park’s 200 animals, which represent 50 different species.

In addition to offering visitors unique encounters with wild animals, the wildlife park also carries out important work in protecting threatened animals and improving awareness of the various species it houses.

Forestry Journal: Every summer, 7,000 feed bundles are collected at the wildlife park and are then delivered for use as fuel at the local heating plant.Every summer, 7,000 feed bundles are collected at the wildlife park and are then delivered for use as fuel at the local heating plant.

In doing this work, it is essential that the wildlife park provides the animals with the best possible living conditions. These are maintained by both the animal keepers and the park’s maintenance team. In carrying out its work, the maintenance team uses a 2018 model Valtra N114 Hitech tractor and a rear-mounted Kesla 204T loader.

During the summer months, lots of twigs and branches need to be cleared as a result of the work done to prevent the enclosures becoming overgrown. More twigs and branches are produced when the various deer species eat the leaves from the feed bundles they’re provided with. These leftovers also need to be collected. The twigs and branches produced by the maintenance work and feed bundles are collected using a loader before being delivered to a local heating plant.

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“There are a lot of twigs. We go through up to 7,000 feed bundles every summer,” explained Tero Ikonen and Seppo Hiltula from the park’s maintenance team.

The crane is equipped with Kesla’s proG20 grapple, making it suitable for handling smaller materials. The volume of the grapple’s gravel bucket is 150 l.

Forestry Journal: Tero Ikonen, Seppo Hiltula, and Matti Heikkilä are responsible for maintenance at Ranua Wildlife Park.Tero Ikonen, Seppo Hiltula, and Matti Heikkilä are responsible for maintenance at Ranua Wildlife Park.

Tero and Seppo said that replacing the sand from the animals’ feeding areas is very straightforward with the crane grapple, as is changing the ground sand and soil in the enclosures.

In addition to the ground materials, waste such as straw, hay, and manure is also produced. The loader is used to collect this waste and take it for compost.

With a near 7-metre reach, the crane is also said to be very handy for reaching inside the animal enclosures without having to enter them. The tractor is usually used when entering the larger enclosures.

The loader is also used to transport rocks, tree stumps, and various wooden structures, which are put into the animals’ enclosures as part of their enrichment.

The park’s tractor has been driven for a total of 1,400 hours and the crane has been used for 700 hours. The maintenance team previously used a Valmet 6400 tractor and a Kronos 365 loader. Both Tero and Seppo said they are very happy with the change.

“The upgrade gives us an extra half-metre of reach with the crane and the lifting capacity is much more”, they added.

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