engleski

The brown bear in the Alps and its chaces for survival

As like wolf and lynx, the brown bear historically occupied nearly all of Europe. More habitat dependant than the other two LC species the bear was over centuries pushed the areas less populated and changed by man. Such areas were found in the northern forests and in the mountain ranges of central and southern Europe. The Carpatian and Dinara-Pindus range still hold vital bear populations, the ones in Apennines, Cantabria and Rhodope are not so safe, while the ones in Pyrenees and in Alps were, prior to human interventions in the last 12 years, restricted to a couple of isolated groups that held only a few bears each and had only a symbolic value. Until 1989, seems that there was only one lonely male bear in Austrian Alps and until 1999, a maximum of four bears lived in Southern Alps in Brenta Mountains in Trentino area in Italy. In the period 1989 to 1993 three bears were reintroduced from Croatia and Slovenia to Austria where they successfully reproduced and, with a few more that migrated from Slovenia, the current Austrian bear population estimate is 23 to 28 individuals. The remaining Trentino bears have been augmented by 5 bears from Slovenia in 1999 and in 2000. Reintroduction efforts have been executed in the Central Pyrenees (three bears in 1996-97) and augmentation is planned for Western Pyrenees as well. There is enough of low populated areas left in Alps where a limited bear population can be restored. The key habitat elements for bears are food, connectivity, cover and low disturbance. Bear food is over 90% vegetarian and composes of grasses, berries and hard mast like beechnuts. The most of protein needs bears do satisfy by insects and other invertebrates and eventual carrion. Connectivity, cover and peace bears need for uninterrupted movements over larger areas, for day resting and for winter denning. The latter is of special importance as the female gives birth to cubs while in the den. However, due to large body size and strength and to large home range the bear has a potential of certain conflict with man. A bear might occasionally attack some crops on fields and livestock. That may be markedly reduced by proper fencing and guarding, and in the case of repeated problems the removal of a trouble-making bear should be considered. More important is the prevention of appearance of nuisance bears by not habituating them to human sources of food. Personal threats to humans are minimal considering the elementary safety rules are implemented, like not approaching to female with cubs or wounding bear in hunt. On the other hand the presence of bears is markedly increasing the ecological, estethical, ethical and even economical value of the area. The percentage of people that appreciate that values added by bears is ever increasing. All interest groups should co-operate to achieve and maintain the proper living conditions for bears and their coexistence with man. The habitat should not suffer further fragmentations and present barriers should be mitigated by creation of linkage zones. The forest extents should not decrease and in the composition the share of mature deciduous trees should be as high as possible. The damage compensation system should be followed by preventive measures. Bear managers should be readily present with advice and action to reduce conflict. Continuos international scientific research and monitoring must be conducted in areas with bears and in the areas where the bears are expected to arrive. The positive example of nearly troubleless coexistence of people with bears is in the Dinara Mountains in Croatia. Here the bear was always treated as a part of the natural environment that has is values and requires mutual respect. As the bottom line the chance for survival of bears in Alps is, as elsewhere, almost exclusively dependant on the human acceptance. It is harder to bring the predator back where it has once been exterminated, but the most of the reasons why it was exterminated are not of the same importance as in the previous centuries. The accepted European legislation and the increasing share of population is expecting our generation to reverse the trend and leave visible results on bear recovery in Alps and other available bear habitats in Europe.

brown bear; Alps; population restoration

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