
The owl that loved football
As the name indicates, you’ll find the huge Eurasian eagle-owl in forests across Europe and Asia. The eagle-owl in our photo today lives near Helsinki, Finland.
Why an eagle-owl on Finnish Independence Day today? When Finland’s national soccer team was playing a qualifying match against Belgium in 2007, an eagle-owl flew onto the pitch, delaying the game for several minutes. Ever since, the Finnish team has been nicknamed ‘Huuhkajat’—the eagle-owls. The owl, called ‘Bubi,’ was later named Citizen of the Year in Helsinki.

Matusevich Glacier in Antarctica