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Gora-gory

Current activities

Brown bear IDs

The human-bear relations are very different between Sweden and Norway. In Sweden, bears cause very little damage to domestic livestock, which are kept within fences or taken in at night. Bears do kill a considerable number of calves of domestic reindeer during their first month of life, however. In Norway, bears kill many sheep, which graze unguarded in forests and alpine areas. Bears are not common in reindeer calving areas in Norway. Bears prey on the calves of moose in both countries.

Bears are not very aggressive and attempt to avoid people. Nevertheless, someone is hurt (or rarely killed) by bears almost every year. Most of the people injured by bears are hunters who have surprised a bear and shot it at close range. An ongoing hunter-education effort seems to be working, as the number of bear-injured people is declining.

The brown bear is a hunted species throughout its range in Sweden and in areas removed from the female core areas in Norway. The Swedish policy is to maintain the population above 1100-1400 individuals, which is the basis level for a favorable conservation status. Although this is the national minimum population goal (there is no maximum population goal), most of the management of brown bears has been delegated to the county level of administration. The goal for brown bears in Norway is expressed in annual reproductions. The national goal (an exact goal, i.e., both maximum and minimum level) is 13 annual reproductions, which translates to about 127 bears. In 2013, the estimated number of reproductions was 7, with reproductions recorded in 3 of the 4 large carnivore administrative regions with reproduction goals for brown bears. 29 den FZ

Brown bear populations are estimated using DNA extracted from scats and hair collected by cooperating hunters in Sweden and primarily by state employees in Norway. These collections occur in each county about every 5-10 years in Sweden and every year throughout the country in Norway. In addition, population trends in Sweden are monitored by observations made by moose hunters, which are corrected for the number of hours afield. Norway and Sweden are cooperating on a common monitoring system and common database for management-relevant data about brown bears.

Brown bear den in northern forest (photo by Filip Zięba)

The Scandinavian brown bear population consists of about 2800 bears in Sweden and 100-150 bears in Norway.  The population was at its lowest around 1930, when only about 130 bears survived the extermination attempt in both countries.  However, conservation measures in Sweden ensured that the bear survived and increased.  The bear is distributed throughout the northern two-thirds of Sweden and in areas along the Swedish border in Norway, in addition to two subpopulations along the Finnish and Finnish and Russian borders in northern Norway.  

The map shows the relative densities of bears, based on the densities of scats collected for population estimates (figure by Jonas Kindberg).

42 Scandinavian population distribution

Brown bear, although a charismatic and majestic species shared the dramatic fate of wolf, lynx and other large carnivores in most of the European countries. In the past, the main cause of brown bear mortality in Poland (or more generally in the Western Carpathians) was the intentional and official killing by people.
39 bears TZK

Since 1952, when the brown bear became a protected species, the cases of legal culling and trapping aiming to eliminate individual bears have been extremely rare in Poland. However, the main causes of bear mortality in Poland seems to be still of human origin. The cases of illegal killing or poaching are suspected to be still relatively common nowadays.

Recently, human disturbance is becoming an increasingly important cause of bear mortality. The increased access and disturbance of forest areas inhabited by bears due to forestry and hunting, antler gathering, tourism, recreation and sport, mainly winter sports, together with the shortage of areas free of disturbance where the animals could find refuge, is an important problem. Activities like picking forest fruits, especially bilberries, not only disturb bears, but also reduce their food resources. A relevant cause of cub mortality is den abandonment by the female due to human disturbance. In the last decades several such cases were recorded in Beskid Żywiecki and Bieszczady region. Den abandonment was mainly caused by gathering of red deer antlers, but also by forestry works and hunting. Traffic accidents are still of less importance in Poland, but an increase may be expected in the close future. Given the limited numbers of brown bears in Poland, each mortality event most probably represents a significant loss for the population.

The brown bear population in Poland is transboundary and, thus, it status depends to a great extent on the brown bear management in Slovakia. The goals of the protection and regulatory bear culling in Slovakia are the elimination of problem bears and the control of the bear population, respectively. In the last years (2000-2009), in Slovakia 277 bears were harvested under the regulatory culling and 44 under the protection culling. Culling represents 70% of the bear mortality in Slovakia. Evidence shows that it may affect bears living in the Polish territory and therefore, also the conservation status of the population in Poland. We propose a close cooperation between Slovakia and Poland in this issue to commonly design the border areas where bear culling should not be allowed, with special attention to the potential reconnection of the western and eastern segments of the population.

The damages caused by brown bears in Poland are not very numerous, and significantly lower than those produced by other protected species. Whereas the number of bear damages is low and stable in Śląskie and Małopolskie Voivodships (compensation costs of about few thousand PLN), in the Podkarpackie Voivodship the number of damages has been increasing in the last decade and damage compensations reached 250,000 PLN in 2010. Most bear damages concern apiaries.

15 bears CBBP Cases of habituation and food conditioning of brown bears are known from all over their wide range, both in areas where bears are subject to strict protection and where the species is hunted. In Poland, this phenomenon is best known in Tatra Mountains, where habituated and more often food conditioned bears appear almost every year since the 80s. The appearance of problem bears in Tatra was mainly due intentional feeding. The magnitude of this problem has been significantly reduced since proper waste management, deterrence and aversive conditioning of bears have been implemented systematically during the last decade of last century.
During recent years, it has been observed an important increase of this phenomenon in the Bieszczady region. Most bears in Bieszczady are strongly conditioned by supplemental food provided for game (representing 1/3 of the bear diet), and their movements seems also to be influenced by the location of the feeding sites. These bears can easily become problem individuals, or even nuisance bears. Intentional luring and feeding of bears, also with wastes of human food and leftovers from slaughterhouses, aiming to create a local tourist attraction, or to help in photo and video recording, is becoming more and more popular in Bieszczady. This activity is beyond any control. At the same time, considering the lack of proper waste management from both local residents and tourists, it is clear that in the short term there may be drastic consequences and problem bears may appear quite soon in Bieszczady, unless measures are taken immediately.

Photo by Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica and Carpathian Brown Bear Project

The brown bear is under strict protection in Poland since 1952. Currently, the species and its habitat are protected by the international and national laws and agreements listed below that have been ratified by Poland.

International legislation

The brown bear is subject to protection by numerous international legal acts and regulations, which we present below:

                  - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 1963): brown bear in Annex II, potentially endangered species,

      - Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitat (1979): brown bear in Annex II, strictly protected species (and its habitat),

      - Convention on Biological Diversity on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity (1992),

      - Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Habitats Directive, 1992): brown bear in Annex II (priority species), species of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation (Natura 2000 sites) and Annex IV, species of Community interest in need of strict protection (classified as a priority species),

      - European Community (EC) Regulation No. 338/97 of 9 December on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade,

      - Carpathian Convention on the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians (2003).

Other related European legislation:

-        Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage.

-        Council Directive 1999/22/EC of 29 March 1999 relating to the keeping of wild animals in zoos.

National legislation

The brown bear in Poland is subject to strict protection, on the basis of the Regulation of the Minister of Environment dated 16 December 2016 on the species of wild animals under protection issued under the Nature Conservation Act of 16 April 2004.

The penal provisions for crimes and offenses against protected species are described in chapter 11 of the Nature Conservation Act of 16 April 2004. The crimes against the environment are also determined in chapter 22 of the Act of June 6, 1997 Criminal Code.

The brown bear is included in the list of species affected by the Regulation of the Minister of Environment of 3 August 2011 on animal species dangerous to human life and health.

The Nature Conservation Act envisages the need for biodiversity monitoring (Article 112). The Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection is responsible for the national monitoring program of species and habitats, with special focus on Natura 2000 sites.

Compensation of damages caused by brown bears

All damages caused by bears are covered by the State Treasury. The procedures for damage inspection and compensation are led by the Regional Directorates for Environmental Protection and, inside national parks, by the park directors (Nature Conservation Act, Civil Code).

Research and experiments on animals

The rules for the research and experiments on the protected species, i.e. brown bear are regulated, among others, by the Act of 21 January 2005 on experiments on animals and the Regulation of the Minister of Science of 29 July 2005 on individual competences for carrying experiments on animals. The principles for marking animals are regulated by the Resolution No. 8/2006 of the National Ethical Committee for experiments on animals.

Provisions regulating the trade and commercial use (including registration) are included in the Nature Conservation Act of 16 April 2004 and refer to alive animals as well as to specimens in collections. The managing authority in this case is the Minister of Environment and the advisory body is the State Council for Nature Conservation.

Other related provisions:

-        Act of 21 August 1997 on animal protection.

-        Act of 13 April 2007 on the prevention and remediation of damages to the environment.

-        Keeping captive bears: Nature Conservation Act of 16 April 2004, Regulation of the Minister of Environment of 20 December 2004 on the conditions for breeding and keeping certain species of animals in zoos and Regulation of the Minister of Environment of 20 January 2004 on the minimum conditions for the maintenance of species in captivity.

-        Regulations for using special weapons during brown bear interventions: Act of 21 May 1999 on firearms and ammunition.

-        Veterinary provisions: Act of 11 March 2004 on the protection of animal health and control of animal infectious diseases, Act of 27 April 2001 on waste disposal.

Brown bears living in Poland represent a small part of the Carpathian population, which currently extends over the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania and Serbia. It is estimated to be about 7200 of individuals all over the Carpathian Mountain range.

5 landscape NS Although bears can be found along the Carpathian range, the distribution of breeding females is discontinuous. The population divides into three segments. The western segment covers most of Slovakia, and the Tatra Mountains and Beskid Żywiecki in Poland. The largest part of the Carpathian population inhabits the main Carpathian chain and extends from the Bieszczady region (encompassing Bieszczady Mountains and surrounding areas) and Slovakian "Poloniny" through Ukraine and Romania to Serbia. The third segment occupies the Apuseni Mountains in western Romania. The whole Carpathian population has been classified as “vulnerable” (at risk of being endangered); in some regions bears are locally endangered. The whole brown bear population in Poland is transboundary, thus bears are under various protection measures, depending on which side of the border they stay, and ranging from complete protection in Poland to protected, but game species in Slovakia or game species in Ukraine.

Brown bears, which once were found nearly across all Europe, disappeared from most regions of the continent by end of the 17th century. Already in the beginning of the XIX century, the western and eastern subpopulations of the northern Carpathians become isolated, which is reflected in their current genetic differentiation. In Poland, after the World War II, bears persisted only in the Tatra and Bieszczady Mountains; their total numbers at that time were estimated in 10-14 individuals. Since then, the population started to recover slowly. According to the last report on the conservation status of the brown bear in Poland for the European Commission, the number of bears in the Polish Carpathians was estimated to be 95 individuals in 2007. The most important population was noted in the Bieszczady region (66 individuals) and the second in the Tatra Mountains (12-15 individuals). In other bear refuges their number oscillates from 2 to 5 individuals. This estimation of bear numbers was based on annual questionnaire surveys sent to the Forest Administration and National Parks in areas of bear presence in 2011. As the whole Polish population is transboundary and brown bears moved across the border, it is difficult to estimate the numbers of “Polish” bears, without a joint study with Slovakia and Ukraine. Further validations and analysis still going on, some jointly with Slovakia, will contribute to be more precise in the estimates.

40 bear-distribution According to the last report for the European Commission on the conservation status of the population, during the last years bear distribution and main refuges have not changed significantly. The report estimates that the current bear range in Poland covers 5400 km2, whereas the “favorable reference range” is 9800 km2.

The current distribution of brown bears in Poland is clearly discontinuous, with two main reproductive areas in Tatra (western segment) and Bieszczady region (eastern segment). The third area of permanent bear presence and occasional reproduction is Beskid Żywiecki. In other parts of the Polish Carpathians, especially in the region between Tatra and Bieszczady, bears are observed rather occasionally and, in some regions, they have not been observed at all in 2009-2011. Bears in Tatra and Beskid Żywiecki are parts of the western segment of the Carpathian population, while these from the Bieszczady region belongs to the eastern segment. The connectivity between the western and eastern segments seems to be very limited, not only in Poland, but also in Slovakia. Although the habitat in the linkage zone between Tatra and Bieszczady seems to be suitable, bears are not settling there. This issue deserves further investigation. Dispersing individuals can be sometimes observed far from the areas of permanent presence. As example, the recent cases of subadult bears crashed by car or observed dozens of kms south of Krakow. Very occasionally bears have been observed in north-eastern Poland.

 

 

Photos by Nuria Selva ©

Figure 1. Observations of the brown bears in Polish part of the Carpathians in 2009-2011 within the national parks and forest districts borders (after "Program ochrony niedźwiedzia brunatnego Ursus arctos w Polsce - Plan ochrony warunkujący utrzymanie naturalnej populacji niedźwiedzia i jego siedlisk" Nuria Selva, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, Agnieszka Sergiel, Agnieszka Olszańska, Filip Zięba, SGGW Warszawa, 2011, 1-92).