On Wednesday, 3 May, members of the Brown Bear Intervention Team of the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic (SNC SR Intervention Team) searched the area above the municipality of Višňové in the Žilina district, where a bear attack occurred at the beginning of this week. The search for the probably wounded bear was carried out in cooperation with the local hunting association Vrchy and with three hunting dogs.

“After the arrival at the Predné pole site, the members of the team formed three groups and started to search the scene of the attack. We first searched the grove and the 700 metre radius of the attack site. After surveying this site, the groups moved into the surrounding woods and searched in the direction towards the ridge. During the tracking, the West Siberian Laikas covered a route some 15 km long,” said Jaroslav Slašťan, the chief of the search and the head of the SNC SR Intervention Team South, about the tracking.

Marek Veverica, head of the new SNC SR Intervention Team West, adds: “We carried out the first inspection and tracking of the bear on the day of the attack. At that time, we found signs of the presence of this beast, namely its droppings and tracks. As these were found in the muddy ground, we could only roughly estimate the weight of the bear at about 120–130 kilograms. During the second tracking we did not discover any new or fresh bear tracks. We believe that even if the bear had been shot during the attack, its injuries were neither fatal nor serious. Therefore, we consider further surveillance unnecessary. ”

Although there is no injured bear in the area, it is likely that other brown bears may be present in the vicinity, and in certain situations encounters with them could be dangerous. “The presence of hunting dogs and our surveillance ruled out the presence of an injured bear in the area. Therefore, we see no reason for locals or tourists to avoid the area. We will, however, continue to monitor the situation in cooperation with the municipal authorities and with the competent hunting ground,” concludes Jaroslav Slašťan.

Further detailed information about the activities of the SNC SR Intervention Team, as well as recommendations on how to act in the case of a bear encounter, are available on the SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team’s website https://zasahovytim.sopsr.sk/ or at https://www.sopsr.sk/medved.

This press release was prepared by the Department of Communication and Promotion of the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic.

https://zasahovytim.sopsr.sk/nad-obcou-visnove-utocil-medved/