Main daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS) leads with a two-page spread on the secret transfer over the weekend of Finland’s last four dolphins from Tampere's Särkänniemi Amusement Park to the Attica Zoological Park in Spata, about 20 km northeast of Athens.
HS reports that Tampere Mayor Anna-Kaisa Ikonen is demanding “a full explanation” into what happened over the weekend. Meanwhile, Miikka Seppälä, Särkänniemi's CEO, admitted to the newspaper that communications regarding the matter had been poorly handled. “We wanted peace to carry out the operation and ensure its safety. I made a mistake when I did not confirm the matter to the media when the issue became public,” he said.
Animal rights activists say they were tipped off to the operation when a large cargo plane arrived at the Tampere-Pirkkala airport on Saturday.
HS’s sister tabloid Ilta-Sanomat (IS) devotes its cover story to the dolphins with grainy photos of the late night operation and interviews with locals who were dismayed by both the operation and its timing – as the dolphins were being transferred, fireworks were going off to celebrate Tampere’s Venetian-themed end of summer party. "I'm embarrassed on behalf of Särkänniemi," one local resident told the paper.
IS's competitor Iltalehti also weighs in on the dolphin saga with a four-page spread and concerns about the dolphins' wellbeing as the Attica Zoological Park has previously been criticized by animal rights activists for a lack of food and medicine for dolphins.
Breakfast or not?
In health news, HS takes a look at whether breakfast is necessary or not. According to the paper, most of the data about the first meal of day is based on observational and anecdotal studies, not hard facts.
"Science does not support the benefits of breakfast, nor the drawbacks of skipping it,” says University of Helsinki Professor of Nutrition Mikael Fogelholm in an interview with HS.
Regardless, Fogelholm does recommend eating a healthy breakfast. "(If you don't eat breakfast) and you start craving chocolate in the morning, then it’s probably a good idea to return to eating breakfast.”
Summery weather in store
Ilta-Sanomat promises that the warm summery weather will return towards the end of the week on the heels of Storm Rauli which blew through parts of Finland, including Tampere, where trees were knocked over on Sunday.
“Finland will still be able to enjoy summer this week,” writes the paper, and forecasts temperature of +20 for Helsinki for Friday.