Well-functioning preventive measures reduce the occurrence of bear-human encounters. Compared to 2020, the good security of waste bins and container sites in Starý Smokovec in the High Tatras has reduced the number of reported brown bear encounters thirty-two-fold in 2022. In the municipality of Vysoké Tatry (High Tatras) the decrease is eleven-fold. The Ministry of the Environment of the SR (MoE SR) continues to support the implementation of systemic measures. Thus, EU funds will be used for the acquisition of 116 additional secured container stands, 113 secured municipal waste bins and 29 electric fences to secure bee colonies in the Poprad district. The funds will also be used to strengthen the personnel capacity of the Brown Bear Intervention Team of the State Nature Conservancy of the SR (SNC SR Intervention Team), upgrade the equipment used by the Tatra National Park Administration and improve communication with the public.
The project was introduced at a press conference held in the High Tatras on 17 January, in the presence of:
– Ján Budaj, Minister of the Environment of the Slovak Republic;
– Dušan Karaska, General Director of the SNC SR;
– Pavol Majko, Director of the Tatra National Park;
– Michal Haring, representative of the SNC SR Intervention Team;
– representatives of local governments – Jozef Štefaňák, Mayor of the town of Vysoké Tatry, and Michal Sýkora, Mayor of the municipality of Štrba
For many years, the High Tatras have been suffering from issues connected with insufficiently secured municipal waste, which served as a source of food and attraction for bears. In the town of Vysoké Tatry, 45% of municipal waste was completely unsecured and another 30% or so was secured insufficiently in 2020. The situation changed for the better in 2022. Currently, 43% of all municipal waste is adequately secured. The implemented measures have yielded results and the number of bear sighting reports has decreased significantly due to the better securing of municipal waste. While the Intervention Team received 128 reports from the area of Starý Smokovec in 2020, in 2022 it was only 4 reports. The situation has also improved in the town of Vysoké Tatry, where the number of reports has dropped from 202 in 2020 to 18 in 2022.
This experience confirms the global trend that preventive measures help to address the causes related to the encounters between wild carnivores and humans. “Effective systemic and preventive measures reduce the presence of bears that have become accustomed to easily accessible food in the past rummaging through garbage. We will capitalise on the experience from the High Tatras in other areas of Slovakia, too, where large carnivores are present,” stressed Minister Budaj.
The SNC SR Intervention Team emphasises the need to continue the implementation of preventive measures. In other areas of Slovakia, the higher occurrence of bears is influenced, inter alia, by inadequate seeding plans. The problem bears look for their food mainly in corn fields, which are often located in foothill areas and in the immediate proximity of national parks. “The main focus should be on the application of long-term preventive measures related to the more efficient seeding practices or inappropriately placed feeding and baiting areas for wild game,” adds Michal Haring from the Intervention Team.
Source: Michal Haring, SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team
Source: Michal Haring, SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team
A subsidy from the Operational Programme Quality of Environment (OP QE) was approved for the project called “Prevention of brown bears in the vicinity of people and human dwellings”. The applicant is the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic. The project concerns preventive measures as well as personnel and material reinforcement of the SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team. The preventive measures consist primarily in the construction of 116 bear-proofed municipal waste bin stands, 113 bear-proofed municipal waste containers and 29 electric fences to secure bee colonies. The Brown Bear Intervention Team will be extended by 9 members, whose task, inter alia, will be to map other problem areas and come up with appropriate solutions. A third team – Intervention Team West, based in Martin, will be established, too. The material equipment of the TANAP Administration staff who will supervise the functionality of securing waste will also be improved.
Source: Michal Haring, SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team
Source: Michal Haring, SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team
Education of local residents and tourists visiting the foothill areas is also a part of the prevention. The public can find relevant information at the dedicated web portal omedvedoch.sk, which includes information on the life of bears and also how to spot a bear and react adequately to such situation. The web portal highlights the topics of human-bear coexistence and also aims to educate the public about the prevention of human-bear encounters and on the proper way to react in the event that such a confrontation is imminent. The website is funded by the OP QE within the scope of the project “Raising awareness and providing advice on improving the quality of the environment in Slovakia”.
The full recording of the press conference can be accessed at the following link.
This press release was prepared by the Ministry of Environment of the SR in cooperation with the Department of Communication and Promotion of the SNC SR
