Problems of Bieszczady bears. Guilty man

In a press release sent to PAP, the Natural Heritage Foundation (FDP) notes that it is increasingly common in Poland that bears living in the Bieszczady Mountains have not yet started their winter rest and can be found in the forest.

This state of affairs is not only caused by climate change, but primarily by humans, who clear trees in their roosting areas and throw food all year round into hunting and photographic baits, which effectively lures these largest predators away from their lairs. – we read in the foundation’s information.

Deforestation

Bears usually choose rotten trunks of old, huge trees as roosting places. The lair may be used by different individuals in subsequent years. However, FDP points out that bears are having an increasingly difficult time in the Polish Carpathians, as their refuges are being cut down more and more often. “Trees that could become another winter resting place for bears are being cut down. Even if the tree with the roost is left, cutting down the trees growing around it can effectively discourage it from sleeping in winter. And this is a very important moment in the life of these largest predators living in Poland. It is then, in winter, that little bears are born,” we read in the FDP information.

– Roosting places and their protection are crucial for the protection of bears – explains Dr. Antoni Kostka from the foundation. – They are critical for extending species continuity and providing these predators with conditions for winter rest. This peace is becoming more and more difficult because there are no protection zones around the dens, and in addition, as part of the hunting economy, food is left at the bait stations all year round, which causes the bears, instead of den, to move between places where humans accustom them to feeding.

Felling is carried out in the Bieszczady Mountains, among others. in the buffer zone of the Bieszczady National Park, forests are being cut down, including: surrounded by dens – noted in the press release.

The FDP calls for urgent changes in the protection of bears, including the creation of roosting zones and, in places where this species occurs, the introduction and enforcement of a ban on throwing food away in places where animals are lured and fed. For this purpose, naturalists started the Wild Rescue campaign.

They also announce further actions: submitting applications for the designation of such zones and taking legal steps regarding the deterioration of the quality of the bears’ habitat.