The issue of damage caused by brown bears to livestock, bee colonies, agricultural crops, fruit and forest trees and property is currently perceived quite sensitively by the professional, but mainly by the general public. However, the issue that resonates the most in Slovakia is that of human-bear encounters.
For these reasons, a need and a public demand emerged in Slovakia to address these problematic situations arising from the co-existence of people and bears. As the brown bear (Ursus arctos) is protected all year round, the issue is being dealt with by the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic through its expert organization, the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic.
+421 903 201 978 – Intervention Team North
+421 903 201 879 – Intervention Team South
+421 910 658 615 – Intervention Team West
+421 910 406 581 – Intervention Team Podpoľanie
+421 910 406 418 – Intervention Team Ponitrie
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Description of the incident / situation |
Behaviour of the bear |
Danger |
How to act |
Whom to contact |
|
Bear spotted at a greater distance outside a populated area, in vegetation, on meadows, slopes, hiking trails Sighting/accidental encounter.
|
Natural behaviour of the bear, passivity, shyness, flight. Bear stands on hind legs. |
Minimal danger of human – bear encounter/contact. |
Give the bear the space to escape, speak calmly, wait for a while and continue in your original direction. Speak louder or whistle, clap. Consider the possibility of retracing the route you took. Observe your surroundings and possibly also the position of the bear. Do not run. |
No need to contact any organisation. |
|
Bear spotted at a greater distance outside a populated area, in vegetation, on meadows, slopes, hiking trails Accidental encounter. |
A surprised/disturbed bear only indicates an attack and runs away. |
Minimal risk of human – bear encounter/contact. |
Give the bear the space to escape, speak calmly, wait for a while and continue in your original direction. Speak louder or whistle, clap. Consider the possibility of retracing the route you took. Observe your surroundings and possibly also the position of the bear. Do not run. |
No need to contact any organisation. |
|
Bear spotted outside a populated area, near residential areas, cattle, apiaries, orchards, camping grounds, etc. |
Bear causing/caused damages in uninhabited areas, regular arrivals. |
Low risk of human – bear encounter/contact. |
Do not approach or provoke the bear under any circumstances. Consider the possibility of retracing the route you took. Observe your surroundings and possibly also the position of the bear. Do not run. |
Contact the National Park / Landscape Protected Area administration. |
|
Bear spotted in a populated area but no longer present on site. |
Bear causing/caused damages in uninhabited areas, regular arrivals. |
Low risk of human – bear encounter/contact. |
|
Contact the National Park / Landscape Protected Area administration. |
|
Presence of a bear in a populated area, near residential areas, cattle, apiaries, orchards, camping grounds, etc. |
Repeated arrivals of bear in populated areas. Bears looking for garbage. Bears remaining in the location. Bears tolerate humans in the vicinity, ignoring humans in the vicinity, loss of shyness in bears. |
Moderate to high risk of close human – bear encounter/contact. |
Do not approach, provoke, or feed the bear under any circumstances. Find a safe place (a building, a vehicle, etc.) and call the emergency numbers. |
Call the emergency numbers: 158 112 159
|
|
Presence and immediate proximity of a bear in a populated area, presence of a female bear with cubs near people, an injured bear, a bear near garbage, food, in a building, a bear attacking people. |
Aggressive behaviour of the bear, bear chasing people, causing damage or attacking people. |
High risk of direct human – bear contact. Extreme danger/threat or damage/injury already caused by the bear. |
Do not approach, provoke, or feed the bear under any circumstances. Find a safe place (a building, a vehicle, etc.) and call the emergency numbers. If attacked, remain passive, lie on the ground facing down and wait for the bear to leave. |
Call the emergency numbers: 158 112 159 |
Unsecured and easily accessible garbage with food scraps is an easy source of food for bears. Residents and local authorities should therefore play an active role in municipal waste management. It is especially important that the guidelines for municipal waste management in areas with brown bears are complied with. The list of municipalities which are obliged to secure waste in line with Section 18 of Decree of the Ministry of the Environment No. 371/2015 Coll. can be found here.
