Bears are attacking: what to do when a totem becomes a threat

Over the past few months, there have been several high-profile cases of brown bear attacks on populated areas. Experts on hunting and environmental management gathered to discuss this problem at a round table with the telling title “Bears are advancing. What to do?".

Now the number of bears throughout Russia is estimated at approximately 300 thousand individuals. Compared to 1980-90, the livestock has increased 4 times. At the meeting, it was noted that the number of bears has increased significantly in recent years, not only in the usual regions where there have always been a lot of bears, such as Siberia and Kamchatka, but also where their population was only a few.

For example, in the Magadan region the number of brown bears is breaking all records; the population has doubled over the past ten years. The increase since last year was as much as 2,300 individuals; there are now 17,565 bears in the region. And in Tatarstan, the number of club-footed people increased three times over the course of a year. It was 25, but now it is 80. Specialists from the State Committee of the Republic of Tatarstan for Bioresources have already removed the animal from the Red Book of the Republic, and it has become a hunting resource. In the Ulyanovsk region, where the 2015 edition of the Red Book stated the existence of only 1-3 individuals in the Sursky Zoological Reserve and its environs, brown ones have now been spotted in as many as eight districts. This year, bears will be counted in the region for the first time in 15 years.

In the Kaluga region, according to the latest data, no more than 50 individuals live. However, there were also discussions about the need to remove brown bears from the Red Book. The controversy arose due to an incident in early July when a bear killed a man in the Iznoskovsky district of the Kaluga region. A man went into the forest for a walk with his dogs. Walking not far from the house, he met a bear. The meeting ended in tears. Local residents noted that browns had already visited them in 2023, but the meetings ended peacefully: after sniffing the territory, they returned back to the forest.

After this incident, the Kaluga region paid special attention to the bear population. Browns began to often come out to people; several such situations were recorded during the late summer and early autumn. One of them ended tragically, although for the bear himself. On September 6, the bear went out onto the road in the Mosalsky district, where she was hit by a car. The animal died from its injuries; the driver of the car was not injured. Now the region intends to exclude the animal from the regional Red Book and begin to regulate the population.

However, terrible deaths also occur in places where there is no ban on bear hunting. A real killer bear has appeared in the Primorsky Territory. In the area of ​​the village of Luchegorsk, a brown one burst into the courtyard of a private house and attacked two men. Both people died. The victims are a father born in 1937 and a son born in 1968. After killing people, the bear attacked a dog shelter, where it chewed up 35 dogs. As a result, employees of specialized services were able to track and kill the bear.

As noted at the meeting of the Russian Hunting and Fishing Union, there are several factors that hinder the fight against the increased population. Firstly, quotas are not being filled by bear hunters due to the high cost of a license, the complexity of hunting and the low demand for bear by-products. Secondly, there is no clear mechanism for recognizing a wild animal as an object of increased danger, and, accordingly, preventing it from causing damage when entering a village. The legislation is structured in such a way that until the beast has attacked someone, there is no reason to “regulate” it. Thirdly, people's behavior. There are animal activists who are “against” any bear hunting. There are “compassionate” citizens who, when meeting brownies, decide to feed them, which should not be done under any circumstances.

What is the reason for this increase in the bear population and how to deal with this problem within the legislative framework, “MK” discussed with the deputy president of “Rosokhotrybolovsoyuz” Andrey Sitsko:

“The population has really grown. There are many reasons for this. Including, probably, due to the fact that in general they began to hunt less bears. The old generation of hunters stops hunting, including for bureaucratic reasons. Renewing a weapons permit has become much more difficult, and medical requirements have become more stringent. And who will teach young hunters?

Nowadays it is not difficult for a young hunter to obtain a hunting license; accordingly, there are many young, inexperienced hunters. But hunting bears is a very difficult and dangerous business. The bear is a very smart animal, and hunting it is not at all easy. You need experience, endurance and composure. It's much more difficult than hunting elk. And there are fewer people in the taiga. Previously, about 10 thousand commercial hunters went hunting every year, many of them killed bears. The presence of a man with a weapon in the forest kept the bear on edge.

Now bears have, to a certain extent, realized that they can make money near a person, find food near roads and populated areas. A bear quite calmly comes to a person, finds food there - it’s much easier than digging some kind of anthills. A complex of these reasons influences.”

- What is the reason for the increasing incidence of aggression?

- The increasing incidences of aggression are most likely due to the fact that bears have begun to encounter more people. Let’s say that 40 years ago, in my opinion, there were much fewer cases of attacks on people, because bears entered villages less often. Nowadays you can easily meet a bear in Kamchatka villages, but before this was impossible. And people don’t fully understand that bears are dangerous animals, and you shouldn’t feed them or take pictures in front of them. There is no need to think, if you want to pet the bear, it will understand your intentions.

- How can a person solve the problem of an increase in the bear population?

- What to do with this is also a rather difficult question. We need to popularize bear hunting and explain to people that there is no need to leave food in the forest. Tell the same tourists that they shouldn’t leave any food waste at all, because it’s not the birds that will come, but a bear, fox or jackal.

Even if we move away from bear hunting, the forced shooting of a bear in cases where it poses a danger to farm animals or humans has become a much more bureaucratic process. I said at the round table that I, being an old-school game manager, have extensive work experience back in the Soviet period. Then, if some bear started harming the state farm or tearing up livestock, the issue was resolved very simply. The livestock specialist called and said that we had problems, there was a bear walking around there, and then we just urgently went out, shot the bear and wrote an act of forced shooting.

Now, by a special order of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, we first need to make a decision at the level of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation that this bear needs to be shot, then obtain permission, and only 3 days were given for this whole matter. Only recently they made changes to the order and extended the period of this shooting. That is, the procedure is very complicated and, on top of that, it is not always clear in which case a bear poses a danger. If a bear walks through a village, is it a threat to life or not? What to do about it? That is, it is necessary to make the process of population regulation simpler and more understandable. Clearly state the criteria for when a bear can be shot if it enters populated areas.

One more thing. In Central Russia there are regions where the bear is listed in the Red Book, for example, the Moscow region, Vladimir region, Kaluga region. Because of the sensational case in the Kaluga region, as a representative of the authorized body told us, they decided to remove the bear from the Red Book so that they could at least regulate the number. Because with a Red List species this is an additional problem. Listing a bear in the Red Book in the central regions is generally an optional procedure, because nothing threatens the bear here.

- Do bears have no natural enemies that could regulate their population?

- Actually no. Only cannibalism works there. There are cases when large bears attack smaller brothers. Very often there are cases when females with cubs are attacked, especially when leaving their dens. There are such facts. But this is not such a common phenomenon that it affects the number.

The Ministry of Natural Resources even increased the bear harvest standard. It is now higher than the natural increase to allow hunters to hunt more bears. Nevertheless, our overall percentage of development of production limits is about 30%. That is, out of 100 permits, we shoot only 30 animals. The view has now become problematic. Therefore, we are trying to decide with specialists and experts what to do with it.