In the last few
\nweeks dozens of people have called the emergency number reporting bears in
\nseveral populated areas in counties such as Brasov, Mures, Sibiu, Harghita,
\nCovasna, Alba or Bistrita Nasaud. A man was recently killed by a bear while he
\nwas out fishing. Another man herding
\ncattle at the edge of a forest was also attacked by a bear and is now in
\ncritical condition. These are not isolated cases, as bears coming down from the
\nmountains in search of food in nearby villages is a known issue. The reasons
\nbehind this are diverse. Central to the problem seem to be large-scale
\ndeforestations and bear overpopulation. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Romania is home to over 6,000 bears,
\neach of its wildlife reserves being overpopulated. The number has stabilized in
\nrecent years, although habitats have been fragmented by the development of road
\nand tourist infrastructure. Bear habitats have also shrunk as a result of urban
\ndevelopment. All things considered, it is estimated that a viable bear
\npopulation for Romania should stand at 4,000. Marian Rasaliu, the prefect of
\nBrasov County, one of areas with the largest number of bear intrusions in
\npopulated areas, points out urgent measures are needed, also suggesting the
\nrelocation of animals to other countries. Data shows that Europe is home to
\nsome 14,000 brown bears. Bulgaria hosts some 1,200 bears, Slovakia some 800
\nbears, Slovenia around 700 and Greece approximately 200 bears. The brown bears
\nare now extinct in Great Britain, and are endangered in France and Spain.
\nNorthern Europe has a larger bear population, with 2,500 bears living in
\nSweden, 1,600 in Finland, around 700 in Estonia and 70 in Norway. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Protected by
\nlaw, bears are banned from being hunted. To reduce the population in areas
\nwhere problems have been signaled, bears are sometimes relocated, but only
\nunder ministry orders. Yet the relocation of a few hundred animals every year
\nis certainly not the solution, all the more so as not all the bears are
\nsuccessfully relocated. <\/p>\n
(translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bears have become an increasing sight in populated areas across Romania, and the authorities will have to take action to stop the damages<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":83430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[39786,39787,39788],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-83429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-bear-overpopulation","tag-relocation-campaigns","tag-road-and-tourist-infrastructure"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n