Tag: brown bear

brown Bear

Brown bear

With it’s range originally encompassing the whole of Europe, much of Asia, most of North America and the atlas mountains of Africa (the only native African bear), it has unfortunately been in decline for some time. These days the bear habitat consists of Alaska and parts of Canada as well as northern regions of the USA, relict populations in Western Europe though they still have a stronghold in Eastern Europe and and Russia as well as sections of central Asia. Highly intelligent they have never lived at high densities, as members high on the the food chain, few places can support large populations for long. With their impressive intelligence, and inquisitive nature, the can be tough to live alongside. With all that in mind brown bear watching can be an enjoyable pastime in many different places. Around much of the world there are newer hides in places that bears still exist – these allow you to watch bears in their natural habitat. We currently only have one listed (it’s will with a visit, link below) but we are always keen to list many more.

There are many places where bears live happily live alongside humans and are rarely seen.

Over time we hope to list many places where you can visit bears and see them in their wild home. Below this, is a list of any articles that have been written on this species, below that will be links that we have to see bears yourself.

Bear Family tree

Bear family tree

The world has 8 species of bear. Although an incredibly successful family in their own right, humans have not been good for the various species which make up this family.

Click on a picture to be taken to its page

Sun bear Genus Ursinae
Sloth bear Genus Ursinae
Asiatic black bear or moon bear Genus Ursinae
Spectacled bear Genus Ursinae subfamily Ailuropodinae
Polar bear Genus Ursinae
Brown bear Genus Ursinae
American black bear Genus Ursinae
Panda bear

Below is a family tree showing current understood relation between the bear species

Albania

Albania

Albania is  relatively small country in Southern Europe – bordering Greece. Despite lying behind the iron curtain, like other countries in this area although predators survived, they are greatly depleted. There are 250 wolves within the borders, 1800-200 bears. Unfortunately, the Lynx in Albania is a subspecies called the Balkan Lynx, and there are only30-45 spread between Albania and North Macedonia.

Unfortunately, when you look at the size of the country, and the fact that 70% of it is covered by the Albanian Alps, you realize that here to the wildlife numbers are greatly depleted. The Dinirac Alps continue on from the Julian Alps which continue from the main alps range. Only the most northern part of Albania contains these mountains.

Albania does pay compensation for livestock killed, which should make this a country which is more open to ecotourism. Should an ecotourism industry grow bigger in this country, it would hopefully reduce both legal and illegal killing of these animals, and therefore allow the populations to rebound.

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Look below the news section to see any further links

AlbaniaNews

What is clear, is that interest in the wolves and bears amongst tourists is likely to encourage ecotourism to become an industry in Albania. This country has suffered greatly over the last half a century or more, however, as a result many animals have survived alongside them – tourism will show them what this is worth.

Bison have not yet got any presence in the country.

Links to areas to visit will appear on this page

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Grizzly bears are rebounding in the USA, how can this success story continue?

Back in 1975, the American Grizzly bear was declared endangered. With only minor differences, the American Grizzly bear is the same species as the European bear, that lives from Western Spain, through Europe to the Kamchatka bear of far Eastern Russia.

In 1975 the USA lower 48 states grizzly bear population numbered somewhere between 136 animals and 312, so it was essential that it was protected. Nowerdays the same 48 states have a population of around 1500, but given that this number would have been as high as 50,000 when people started migrating to the USA in large number, this recovery is only just getting going.

Allowing bears to return is essential

Continue reading “Grizzly bears are rebounding in the USA, how can this success story continue?”

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Should bears be returned to the wilds of the UK?

If you follow this blog regularly, you will have read yesterday and the day before on the reasoning for reintroducing Lynx and Wolves.

As I wrote, Lynx should be a simple choice. I believe that Wolves follow a similar logical route, that suggests that the reintroduction would either save or make far more money that any negatives might cost.

Brown bears are highly intelligent omnivores. They could thrive in the UK, and give much needed job opportunities in remote parts of the UK

Bears are also locally extinct in the UK, how does the arguments about reintroducing them go? Well, I would argue that actually the cost of bear reintroduction would be significantly lower.

Continue reading “Should bears be returned to the wilds of the UK?”
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The Cantabrian brown bear is returning, will it be allowed

Back around the 1900 there were around 1000 bears roaming the mountains of the Iberian peninsular. Unfortunately by 1950 this population had been reduced to two small populations consisting of 50-60 in one and perhaps as low as 14 individuals in the other.

Bears are recolonising prime habitat that they have not been seen in for decades, long may it last
Continue reading “The Cantabrian brown bear is returning, will it be allowed”
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