The brown bear, which has been traveling in Bavaria in the border area to Austria for some time, has again immortalized itself with paw prints. The Bavarian State Office for the Environment announced on Friday that the footprints of a bear in the snow had again been documented between the districts of Rosenheim and Miesbach. The authorities are still unable to say more about the individual – but it has long been suspected that it could be a young male who is on the move and looking for a female.
Livestock farmers are alarmed in the region after sheep were killed this week. According to initial investigations, the bear is the culprit.
But how dangerous is the animal for humans? According to the current status, he should not pose any risk, as the state office writes on its website. However, hikers and ski tourers should be careful and attentive and observe the rules of conduct when dealing with wild animals.
So far there have been no encounters between humans and the predator roaming around there. “According to current knowledge, the bear behaves inconspicuously towards humans,” write the wildlife experts.
For livestock farmers, however, things are different. They were informed by the authorities and should bring their animals into the barn at night if possible and protect their herds. The authorities could also support this with fence material, according to a statement from the state office.
The debate about bears and the dangers posed by the imposing animals recently flared up because a jogger was killed by a brown bear in Trentino, in northern Italy. The animal has since been captured.
Brown bears are found in southern Europe mainly in Romania and parts of Italy and Slovenia. According to research by the German Press Agency, the largest population lives in the Carpathian region in Romania. Accordingly, there should be 7500 to 8000 animals. In Trentino, the region where the deadly attack recently took place, the number of bears living in the wild is estimated at around 100, and the trend is growing. The number of bears in the other alpine regions should be smaller.
According to reports, experts currently consider it quite unlikely that bears will settle permanently in Germany. However, it happens again and again that young bears dare to go to Bavaria – as in the current case in Rosenheim and Miesbach
Source: Bavarian State Office for the Environment / with material from dpa
