Himalayan brown bears (HBBs) were common species in all mountain regions of Kyrgyzstan. However, due to anthropogenic factors in areas of habitat, the number was reduced, and in some places, the species disappeared. Locally called as aiu and used in many place names such Aiu-Bulak (spring of bear), Aiu-Tör (highland pasture of bear), or Aiu-Üngkür (cave of bear), indicating their much wider geographic presence in the past. Traditionally brown bears associated with the forest landscapes, however in conditions of the Central Asian region they occur in highland steppes as well. For instance, there is evidence of their presence in syrt zones, in alpine meadows of Khan-Tengiri mountains, Ak-Sai and Arpa highland valleys in Kyrgyzstan.
The goal of this research project by the International Mountain Institute, International University of Kyrgyzstan (supported by Bears in Mind since 2022), is to better understand and update the data on present distribution status, ecology and seasonal food habits of the HBBs. The main study site will be the Naryn State Nature Reserve, which is an important component of the habitat of nationally endangered brown bears, globally vulnerable snow leopards (Panthera uncia), Himalayan wolves and wild ungulate species such as argali, ibex, maral and roe deer.
Low public awareness of the Asiatic black bear (ABB) in Russia leads to ignorance of this species and threats to its population from government agencies, the media, as well as a negative attitude towards bears from the local residents, which perceives them (along with other large carnivores) as a problem and threat.
This project supported by Bears in Mind since 2021, aims to raise the level of awareness of the public, local residents, authorities and journalists about the the ABB and the current population status; to debunk the negative image about these animals; to form an information agenda aimed at protecting this species and its habitat in Russia, promoting coexistence of bears and people.
All photos by Sergey Kolchin
The main aim of the project that Bears in Mind is supporting since 2020, is to assess the population dynamics, developed management plan and implementation for the conservation of Asiatic Black Bear (ABB) and its habitat in district of Chitral, Northern Pakistan. Under the project “Population estimation and conservation of Asiatic Black Bear in potential in Hindukush Region Chitral Pakistan” the population field survey was conducted and based on the survey population distribution map for Chitral was developed and shared with other stakeholders. The market was assessed for the first time to get an overview on bear parts trade in the region. Stakeholders were consulted for ABB conservation. Human Bear Conflicts were assessed and the possible mitigation measures were also documented. For effective conservation of the ABB and its habitat, a management plan was jointly developed with the help of the local communities and other stakeholders. Activities were designed to reduce Human Bear Conflicts.
In Chitral district, the ABB remains the least studied and researched species, especially in the past three decades. Due to its unique geo-climatic conditions and ecology, Chitral district – more particularly the southern Chitral – provides ideal habitat for ABB to live in. However, due to lack of proper research, the potential of the region in terms of ABB, is unexplored.
Over the past two years, the Mountain Society for Research & Development Chitral has been implementing the project activities. The focus has been on:
Improved management of ABB habitat which integrates sustainable forest & land management and compatible conservation practice.
Participatory conservation to reduce Human Bear Conflicts and improve livelihoods of local communities.
Promote awareness and sensitization among the local communities and other stakeholders for the conservation of ABB (and associated biodiversity conservation).
Bears in Mind will continue the financial support in 2023 with the emphasis on empowering Indigenous Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) as tools for ABB conservation in Chitral, Pakistan.
Phase 1. East Balkan Bear Project (2017-2023)
The East Balkan distribution of brown bears comprises two largely connected population demes: a bear population across the Stara Planina Mountains in the north of Bulgaria and the Rilo-Rhodopean bear population, which spans Bulgaria and Greece. The project carried out by Balkani Wildlife Society set out to estimate the size of the East Balkan population for the first time as a whole, using noninvasive genetics with Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture modelling and to determine its connectivity with the Dinaric population. Knowledge of precise demographic parameters are fundamental to understanding population dynamics, the assessment of threats such as anthropogenic mortality and for designing successful conservation strategies.
Phase 2. Bears Across Borders (2023-2025)
Bears Across Borders is a transboundary project that aims to investigate with the use of noninvasive genetics, the functional connectivity and geneflow of bear populations across a biologically meaningful scale in the Balkan Peninsula. This research-for-conservation project has come together as the natural continuation of the previous phase of the project. The main objective is to map how bear populations interact and maintain genetic exchange, and inform strategies to protect the habitats that are important for the conservation of bears. A parallel aim is to foster harmonized monitoring across the range of the species in the Balkan Peninsula. Bears Across Borders is a partnership between Balkani Wildlife Society with researchers and foresters from Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, N. Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and the UK and supported by Bears in Mind with seed funding.
Following the successful registration of illegally and legally held bears in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Pašić and Trbojević, 2018), it is necessary to move to the second phase for the fulfillment of the main objective: development of a bear sanctuary in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to accommodate between 10-20 privately owned bears from within the country.
Bears in Mind has partnered with the Center for Environment (CZZS). This local Bosnian NGO focuses on the conservation of carnivores in the Balkan country, where bears take up a prominent role. Since the concept of a sanctuary for captive bears is new to BiH/ CZZS, Bears in Mind organized a two day excursion to a well-known bear sanctuary in the Black Forest in Germany. Operated by Foundation for Bears. The Bosnian group were representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations, from the Republic of Srpska:
Mr Goran Zubić, RoS Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (Head of Hunting sub-Department),
Mr Sretko Stanković, Public Forest Company, JPŠ “Šume Republike Srpske” (Head of Department for Hunting, Nature Protection and Tourism),
Mr Dejan Radošević, Republic Institute for Nature Protection, and
Mrs Aleksandra-Anja Dragomirović, Head of Center for Environment.
After having seen a very well designed and managed bear sanctuary in Germany, the coalition started making plans for a site visit in Bosnia. A possible site had already been identified by the Bosnian partners, located in a forested area in the western part of the Republic of Srpska: Drinic. Bears in Mind invited an independent consultant, Mr Douglas Richardson, as an expert on carnivore (bear) enclosure design. A visit to Bosnia followed soon, where we had meetings with the above group and the ministry that would be involved in the project. Everyone was very positive about this project and cooperation, an important step in the development towards a sanctuary.
The group then visited the Drinic area where a proposed 7,5ha of forested are is marked as suitable for the development of the sanctuary. There are natural pools and several artificial dens already in place. There is also a deer fence surrounding the area, useful as a possible barrier to keep future visitors out!
After the site visit, we went to the CZZS office to put all our ideas on paper and make a rough plan for Douglas to work out. It was a very interesting afternoon and an inspiring process to work on! Next will be the creation of the plan, putting a number to it and look for contractors. Paralel to this, we will draw up several MoU’s between relevant stakeholders and governmental bodies (also the two entities that make up BiH: the Republic of Srpska and Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina).
More information will follow soon. Below are several of the captive bears still in private possession, awaiting their relocation to the new bear sanctuary.
The problem of keeping bears in captivity has a two decades-long history in Georgia. The animals are kept predominantly for local and international tourists’ attraction in restaurants, petrol stations, monasteries, along and nearby the central highway that crosses the country horizontally (Batumi-Dedoplistskaro, approx. 800 km). The issue is linked to two major problems: contribution to wild population decline and inhumane treatment of animals. Many organizations (including Bears in Mind, SEED, NACRES, Tbilisi Zoo, some voluntary shelters, government of Georgia etc.) have been dealing with this problem since the collapse of Soviet Union. Remarkable success was achieved through the implementation of different concrete projects; however, the problem still exists (although not to the devastating degrees as it was observed in the 90s) and bears (predominantly cubs) still occur in captivity every spring. Most of them are still kept under deplorable conditions. In parallel, concerned organizations, at this moment, do not have credible monitoring data and it is not exactly known how many bears there are in (illegal) captivity throughout Georgia. Moreover, effective legislation of Georgia prescribes fines to an owner, confiscation of a bear and moving it to a shelter. Nevertheless, the limited capacity of shelters (including the national zoo) in conjunction to the low awareness of the population leads the government (also the judicial system) to be inactive and “close its eyes” to the problem.
Most of the bears in captivity have been registered in a central database. Several surveys on bears in captivity have been initiated over the years, where information about the bears and their owners was collected, following a specially prepared questionnaire. The bears’ owners received advice on improvement of food, living conditions, health and general care for bears. NACRES staff also checked whether the owner had a permit to keep the bear. This was very often not the case. Curiously, the owners did not use the bears to gain money from them. It is thought that the caged bears are kept as a status symbol. In 2007 three poorly kept bears that lived in a closed-down zoo near Tbilisi were taken to the Bear Forest in the Netherlands. This rescue operation generated a lot of nationwide media attention towards the problem, which put the captive bear issue back on the agenda. With the survey data, the next step was to implement the Captive Bear Action Plan. Furthermore, the development of a shelter for confiscated or rescued bears should be developed. Unfortunately, many of our joint efforts have thus far shown little success. Mostly because of the priorities within the government.
Since 2019, Bears in Mind cooperates with SEED in an awareness initiative, hoping to find lasting solutions for the problems related to captive bears in Georgia.
In East Kalimantan (Indonesia), Sun bear habitat is rapidly shrinking due to forest conversion and fires for palm oil monoculture development. As a result of this Sun bears are now commonly held as pets and conflict with humans occurs when bears enter communities or feed on crops. Despite this, the Balikpapan municipality decided in 2001 to make the Sun bear its mascot. This has led to a better protection of the last bit of primal forest where bears live (the Sungai Wain forest), and a heightened awareness among the locals. The sanctuary is surrounded by an elevated bridge. From this bridge visitors can see the bears play, climb, and dig. Local guides are trained to give visitors information.
Bears in Mind has funded the construction of the center, development and printing of a number of awareness materials like design and production of a new sun bear activity booklet, re-printing of Sun Bear booklet for distribution among visitors, production of variety of Sun bear promotional materials and improved visitor education through guide training.
Currently, 2024, Bears in Mind has committed itself to the much needed repairs / maintenance to visitor boardwalk, the Sun bear holding area and the Sun bear enclosure.
Threats to the sun bear Visitors at the KWPLH Education Centre can access information through painted panels, paintings, bear statues, information panels and interactive displays. All the education material is being made by local artists. Local goverment has been very positive since the start of the project, and they contribute in the daily management costs. The Sun bear or Malayan bear is a protected species in Indonesia, but law enforcement is not very strict. Because large parts of the forest are still turned into plantations or cut down for agriculture, many bears loose their habitat. In search for food they sometimes come too close to human settements. Cubs are taken from the wild and are often kept as a pet, until they grow too large (and dangerous) to maintain and end their life in misery in a small cage or are sold for meat or other parts.
How it all started… The beginning of the idea and need to do something substantial for captive bears in Europe goes back more than 30 years. In 1990, Ouwehand Zoo in the Netherlands was asked by the Directorate-General (European Commission) to draw up a plan to accommodate several captive (ex-dancing) bears from Greece. Those would be confiscated following a change in legislation. The use of dancing bears as street entertainment was not only banned in Greece, but also in Turkey. In the years that followed (more than 200 bears needed to be rehomed), two large bear sanctuaries were built in the abovementioned countries and dozens of bears were saved under the LiBearty campaign set up by then WSPA and for Greece it was mainly ARCTUROS liberating dancing bears and providing them a new home.
Mackenzie in his cage in Bosnia HerzegovinaMackenzie being fed by Dutch UN soldiers
More bears needed a new home (amongst them three blind dancing bears from Turkey) and following the initial request by the EC, Ouwehand Zoo was able to finally answer this request with the start of the development of the Bear Forest, a sanctuary for mistreated European brown bears. A separate foundation was created to manage this bear sanctuary, and the International Bear Foundation was born when phase one was finished of this special project in April 1993. Two brown bears already in Ouwehand Zoo, moved in first: Geert & Trudy. Followed by the rescue of bears Mackenzie & Nelly from former Yugoslavia and the rescue of lonely bear Jo from a bear pit in Maastricht – The Netherlands. The three Turkish blind bears Bora, Koröglû & Fiona were rescued and introduced into their new forever homes during autumn of 1993. Many more bears would follow suit…
BoraKoröglûFiona
In the years since then, the foundation has had multiple names, but ever since 2016 they have been operating under the name ‘Bears in Mind’. Bears in Mind is a valued member of and operates within several network organizations like the IUCN (World Conservation Union), EAZA (European Association of Zoos & Aquaria), EARS (European Alliance of Rescue Centers & Sanctuaries) and the IBA (International Association for Bear Research & Management).
The Bear Forest sanctuary For 30 years now, the sanctuary for bears has been able to offer peaceful asylum to 34 brown bears in total. From circuses, private collections, theaters, film industry, road-side zoos to bears that were kept next to a restaurant or petrol station. Unfortunately, captive bears are found under many horrific and often shameful conditions. As of November 2024, 7 bears inhabit the Bear Forest: two from a former hunting farm in Bulgaria, two from war-torn Ukraine where they were kept next to a restaurant and a small children’s zoo until their rescue, one bear from a closed-down zoo in Georgia, one bear from private ownership in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one was from Sweden where she was kept as playing companion for a polar bear cub found on the sea ice and eventually both of them ended up in Ouwehand Zoo.
The bears live together with a small pack of four wolves. These animals are kept together in this mixed-species environment as a way of mimicking their natural environment. The interaction between wolves and bears stimulates the natural behavior of both species, beneficial for all. The wolves are mostly given meat, whereas the bears only eat little amounts of meat as part of their very diverse seasonal diet, based on what they would find in the wild. Bears in Mind introduced the Natural Feeding Program in 1999 and in the first year there was already a major difference noticeable in the behaviour of the bears, with many of them going into hibernation for the very first time! This was a clear sign that the natural behaviour of these traumatized animals could be restored if the right ‘tools’ and care was offered.
The sanctuary is 20,000m2 in size, has a large pool for the bears to drink/swim/cool down and play in, with a waterfall. It is part of the surrounding natural forest which borders the zoo and it has 11 artificial dens and two small wooden shacks for the bears to shelter from the weather or hibernate in. Before entering the Bear Forest, visitors are walking through ‘Karpatica’, a series of simulated Romanian-style houses with informative and interactive educational material for young and old. About the biology and ecology of bears in general, threats to bears and their habitat, and of course about Bears in Mind and their projects around the globe.
Since The Bear Forest is part of the general walking route through Ouwehand Zoo, almost one million visitors a year can view the bears and learn about them. This poses a huge opportunity to Bears in Mind, to try and reach these visitors and make them part of their conservation mission: to create a better world where bears and people can coexist in.
Bear Alert is developed by the coalition of Bears in Mind and Foundation for Bears to keep track of the many captive bears, often living under horrible conditions, in order to help as many individuals as possible. Over time, Bears in Mind and Foundation for Bears have gathered information on more than 800 of these bears. Some of them have already been rescued from their miserable existence and brought to a sanctuary or zoo where proper care and space could be offered. Other bears unfortunately died before we could we do anything. And some of them still await a better life…
The individual reports about bears will be processed into a database. Short term solutions will be considered next. In most cases the foundation’s staff will consult with their local partner NGO and / or with the owner of the animal to give advise on husbandry, food and water. Simple enrichment methods for the cages are used such as leafy tree branches or a play object. These methods are often cheap and easy to create and make the life of the bear somewhat more pleasant. In other cases, if legally possible, bears will be confiscated and relocated to a better facility.
The coalition launched Bear Alert as a new platform in 2024. More easy to use on a smartphone, with more and better direct sharing possibilities, so we can help these captive bears in a more efficient way.
There is much discussion about whether rehabilitated bears are likely to become problem bears. Therefore, data collected in this project is of paramount importance to this discussion. Of course we would prefer to be able to release orphaned bears in the wild again, rather than putting them in captivity for the rest of their lives. However, we must be absolutely certain that the rehabilitation process has no negative impact on their natural behaviour, increasing the chances of the released bear becoming a ‘problem bear’.
Between 2008 and 2013, a total of 19 bears have been equipped with GPS/GSM collars in order to assess the suitability of rehabilitated bears for reintroduction in the natural habitats. Ten of these bears were reared in the Romanian Rehabilitation Center (developed by Bear Again) and nine were wild caught individuals of two behavior categories: (1) wild behaving juveniles and (2) individuals with different degrees of habituation to anthropogenic food sources. The project revealed and proved that reintroduction of the rehabilitated bears into the wild is successful and without any threatening impact on the wild population. The survival rate of the rehabilitated tracked bears was around 50% (it is 55% considering all the rehabilitated bears). This is according with the survival rate of juvenile wild bears in the literature. One of the most important regulating factors can be considered the infanticide killing by adult male bears. An important threat is poaching.
Monitoring the bears and collar results is still ongoing.
2020 onwards One of the basics of the rehabilitation technique is keeping the cubs in a system of several enclosures that offer 100% natural habitat. In this environment, the bears can develop their inborn instincts during a 1 – 1,5 years of rehab period. The facilities are surrounded by electrical fences. The electrical fence on one hand keeps the young bears inside the facilities and keeps intruder adult male bears or other predators out. The main aim of the support offered by Bears in Mind to this project has been directed towards improvement of the total electrical system of the Rehab Centre in order to keep the cubs safe, improve data communication and decrease the risk of depredation by males from outside. Next to that, the development of several remote cableway feeding systems have been sponsored. This allows the team from Bear Again to get the food to the bear cubs without being noticed. This way, these bears won’t associate food with people, an important lession for their future!
