Research has shown that >20% of the southwestern Primorsky Krai, a region of almost 7,500 km2, is impacted by forest fires each year. Within this region there is also a small UNESCO biosphere reserve “Kedrova Path”, where the Amur leopard still lives. Each year 7% of the area is destroyed by fire. Between 2002-2008, nearly 30% of the reserve has been affected by fire. Especially shrubs, trees and seedlings burn but the larger trees usually survive the fires. If the old large trees die, the forest will slowly change into grassland. This habitat is not suitable for tigers and leopards, nor for the brown- and black bears which live in the same area.
The importance of firebreaks Forest fires are more frequent in areas where people live. Most fires are started by farmers in order to refertilize their land. Old and dead plant material is removed to stimulate growth of new grass for cattle to graze. However, also the more remote areas which are leased by hunters, are more frequently burnt. The new growth of grass attracts deer and other wildlife. Unfortunately, this also gives poachers easier access to their prey.
Bears in Mind donated a bulldozer for the park management to create the necessary firebreaks.
During a workshop on the reintroduction of wild bears in 2000, participants agreed that more data has to be gathered to study the long-term effects, before it can be determinded whether or not reintroducing (orphaned) bears is beneficial to the species in the wild. The workshop was a cooperation betweeen Bears in Mind and the Bear Taxon Advisory Group (Bear TAG) of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA).
Reintroduction in Italy
In the mountains in the Trentino region, wild bears from Slovenia are being introduced. Slovenia has a healthy bear population. Another possibility of reintroduction of bears is the rehabilitation of orphaned bears. In such a programme orphaned cubs, whose mother has been shot or died in an accident, are taken care of in a special rehabilitation centre. They are raised and then taught to become wild bears again. If the cubs are grown and can fend for themselves, they are released back into the wild. There is presently not enough data to make claims about the long-term effects of these reintroductions. People are still unsure as to what happens to the bears when they grow older. Time will provide the necessary data.
The first workshop ‘Brown Bear Management in Slovakia’ was held in July 2011. Hunters, foresters, nature conservationists, government representatives, farmers and beekeepers, as well as representatives from the police and the university attended the workshop. Dr. Alistair Bath skilfully led the different parties with conflicting interests towards finding solutions and reaching agreement. Dr. Bath is an expert in the area of Human Dimensions in Wildlife Management. All participants, including the Department for Environment, expressed the wish to participate in a second workshop. This workshop was held in October of the same year and was equally successful. A subsequent workshop was organised in 2012, and a conceptual management plan for the brown bear in Slovakia was drawn.
Several years later the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic has begun preparing management plan-type documents for the bear / wolf / lynx / wildcat. Undoubtedly, the groundwork for the bear plan was layed down by Dr. Bath and SWS.
Bear Emergency Team (BET) A ‘BET’ swings into action as soon as a bear is sighted near areas inhabited by humans. Acting swiftly is beneficial to both humans and bears. The members of a BET are appointed by the Department for Environment. Bears in Mind has provided funds in order to organise a Bear Emergency Team training session. The training is provided by Dr. Djuro Huber, a Croatian bear expert who has been collaborating with Bears in Mind for quite some time. The team also strives to help avoid conflict involving bears and assists the government with registration of all bear-related incidents. This also includes traffic accidents involving bears.
Semperviva is a Bulgarian organization which started to breed livestock uarding dogs again. Every year, one or two litters of puppies are raised. When the puppies are old enough they are taken (for free) to pre-selected shepherds, who sign an agreement confirming their understanding of how to take care of the dogs. The dogs need to work in pairs and very often a younger pup is trained by an adult dog. With its follow-up programme Semperviva checks on the dogs twice a year until they are confident that the dogs behaviour is appropriate. Bears in Mind funded the breeding project between 2002-2011.
In the old days, the Karakachan dog breed was used specially to protect flocks of sheep. The Semperviva programme makes it possible for shepherds to obtain a puppy and receive training in how to care for the dogs and use them to protect their livestock. Every year, a dozen puppies were placed in the eastern part of the Rhodopy mountains in Bulgaria. Furthermore, the number of attacks by bears and wolves before and after the introduction of the dogs are compared. Over the years, it has been proven that flocks accompanied by these dogs have suffered substantially less losses to large carnivores.
In 2008 Indian wildlife NGO ‘WildlifeSOS’ started the training of rangers under the project: ‘Asiatic black bear Conservation Education and Training Programme in Kashmir, India’. They were trained to deal with the capture of bears and other wild animals. Practice with a tranquilizer gun was very important. In addition, they were also trained in dealing with angry mobs that wanted to kill bears or leopards that came too close, also in retalliation as resulting in conflicts. Wild animals should be calmly approached and treated. This minimizes stress levels and is safer for the ranger / handler. There are a number of trained people now in almost every region of the project. They respond immediately, as soon as a bear incident is reported.
Local people learn about the behaviour of wild animals and how they can avoid conflicts. Once there has been an incident with a bear or other wild animal somewhere, village meetings are held. The people of WildlifeSOS explain how the bears can be kept as far from the villages as possible. They also teach the communities how to avoid bears in the future and urge them to report every bear incident as quickly as possible. Even schoolchildren are included in the education programme. They learn about bears, how beautiful they are, but also how important they are to the ecosystem. Through workshops and training the locals will have a more positive attitude towards bears. Moreover, their fear for bears will decrease. Almost every bear incident is reported, unlike before. In the past the only message that came from the village with a bear incident was that the bear had been burned alive or stoned to death. Not only bears benefit from this project; virtually no other wild animal in this area has been killed by the locals ever since it started.
The main aim of the project in 2008-2009 was to collect information that will enable a preliminary assessment of the current status of brown bears in Albania and Macedonia. Field surveys were carried out during which indirect signs of bear presence (i.e. tracks, scats, feeding signs etc.) were collected. In addition, a new non-invasive study method developed in Greece was used. This method is based on the marking behaviour of bears and uses signs (i.e. marks, bites, hair, mud prints) found on power poles to document the presence of the species in a given area. As marks and bites stay on wooden poles for a long time, they provide information not only on the current status of bear populations but also on the cumulative history of the presence of the species. By attaching barbed wire to these poles, hair was easily collected and later used for DNA analysis.
In Macedonia the project team did not find any bears in captivity. In Albania, however, dozens of captive bears were identified. They are kept in small, badly-managed zoos or in cages near restaurants or petrol stations. Most animals are kept in extremely small cages en receive poor quality food and only little water. Keeping a restaurant bear is extremely popular and the demand for young animals is increasing. The cubs are mostly captured in the wild. This puts a strain on the wild population. Bears in Mind and several partners, together with the Albanian government, are looking into the solutions to these problems.
A Bears in Mind-funded research study between 2010-2013 conducted by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) focused mainly on Female Core Areas. These are areas inhabited by female bears, often with their offspring. Therefore, it is important to carefully protect these areas. More in-depth knowledge will help the government to implement stricter and more specific conservation measures. In the long run, these measures will contribute to the survival of bears in Iran. A national Brown Bear Management Plan will be formulated based on the research results.
Protecting the bears This research will lead to the creation of a topical database containing numbers, distribution and information about the genetic relationship among brown bears. This data will be used in training sessions and workshops for the Iranian authorities, responsible for protecting the bears and their habitat. This knowledge will enable them to better address the problem of poaching.
Results All gathered data combined and analyzed, it shows us that brown bears prefer habitats far from human settlements and tend to prefer habitats with higher slope and elevation. As a result, more than 13% of Lorestan territory is considered to be suitable for the species. However, official protection has been established within no more than 27.7 % of the species suitable areas. These findings highlight further importance of enhancing bear conservation across the Province and probably, the entire Zagros region through identification of high priority areas, particularly in southern province.
Finally, management implications have been discussed and shared with local authorities. All the data were also shared with Lorestan Department of Environment so they can promote monitoring plans.
The bear sanctuary ‘Tat Kuang Si’, managed by Free the Bears (FTB) provides shelter to many Asiatic black bears and Malayan sun bears. Most of these bears were confiscated and rescued at an early age from poachers by the government of Lao with help from FTB. More than 200,000 people from Lao PDR and abroad visit the sanctuary annually. Through an education program, visitors can learn more about both bears and the illegal trade in wildlife in Lao PDR.
Aside from the education program, research into human-bear conflict (HWC) was carried out in the field. These conflicts lead to people developing a negative attitude towards bears. Bears regularly seek food in the corn fields surrounding the national parks and can thus destroy a complete crop. Earlier research in 2010 showed that most villages were invaded regularly by bears looking for corn. Park rangers are trained to address these human-bear conflicts immediately and effectively. Bear sightings are reported through a special ‘hotline’.
The HWC study between 2011 and 2013 was funded by Bears in Mind.
FTB has been working actively in Southeast Asia for many years and has successfully tackled the problems in Lao PDR from the source. In 2011, FTB started a campaign in their bear sanctuary ‘Tat Kuang Si’ to raise awareness among the local population and the government concerning the issues wild bears are facing. FTB also reinforces legislation and offers hunters an alternative source of income.
With financial support from Bears in Mind, a mobile education and emergency bear rescue vehicle was purchased. It was also used for transportation of small groups from Luang Prabang to ‘Tat Kuang Si’ in order to join on-site education activities, used for the transportation of educators and equipment to remote areas or other provincial capitals for outreach work, and of course for bear rescue interventions.
In the spring of 2009, three orphaned Asiatic black bears were taken to a small animal sanctuary in Far East Russia. The bears, one female and her two brothers, have been part of an intensive rehabilitation programme between 2009 and 2011. They were prepared for a life in the wild. During this period the three bears have been ‘guided’ around the woods by two researchers. During these sessions, the guides were wearing camouflage clothing and they did not speak. By means of photographs, sound and image recordings, the researchers have been able to follow the development of the bears in detail.
In 2010, the bears were released into the wild. Just before their release, the two males weighed between 20 and 23 kilos, while the female weighed around 8 kilos. All three bears are wearing radiocollars with a transmitter, enabling the researchers to keep track on the bears. In the forest, a chance meeting with a Siberian tiger or an adult bear is very likely.In the time since their release, the bear were followed closely and did well. After two years, the collars automatically fell off.
The project has proven to be a great success and a lot of vital information about adolescent rehabilitated bears has been gathered and shared.
Increased knowledge and awareness among local people regarding the lifestyle of bears is of great importance if we want to adequately protect wild animals like bears. Unfortunately, in Nepal, knowledge and awareness about these topics is still lacking. Therefore, education programmes for schools, training for the local people and an eco-club have been set up for this project between 2011-2014. The desired outcome from this training was that local people learned how to deal with bears within their immediate vicinity and received information regarding the protection of bears and nature in general. Multiple workshops for shepherds and civil servants were also organised under this programme.
More about bear research in Nepal Data relating to the bear population was collected through a wide range of different methods. Researchers interviewed people from the villages in the areas where conflicts between humans and bears occurred, DNA material is collected from hair samples and droppings, and tracks (such as claw marks on trees, footprints on the ground and traces of digging) were investigated. Information was also collected about the habitat such as the type of forest, slopes, the soil types and tracks of other animals. All of the information collected was processed and analysed via a specially developed computer program. The ultimate objective of this project was to contribute to the National Brown Bear Conservation Action Plan whose primary goal is to provide protection to the brown bear in Nepal. This is still an ongoing process.
Results The following has been achieved during the two projects in Nepal:
1) Presence/absence surveys of the brown bear in all potential areas of the corridor between Annapurna Conservation Area and Shey Phoksundo NP and within the protected areas. 2) Examine distribution and habitat use of brown bears in the study areas. 3) Investigate human-wildlife conflict in the region and quantify the damage and conflict created by brown bears. 4) Investigate the diet of brown bears and assess the percentage of livestock and other wild prey in the brown bear’s diet. 5) Draft the Brown Bear Conservation Action Plan for Nepal.
