How many wild predators can nature tolerate? In the Alps, the alarm about bear attacks is getting louder and louder. A new case is likely to further fuel the debate.
The bear seems to be getting closer: after the deadly attack on a jogger in northern Italy, the tracks in Bavaria are now piling up. A brown bear was sighted in the mountains at the weekend, now the State Office for the Environment has confirmed a bear attack on sheep, in which two animals died and one was injured. The people of the region are now beginning to prepare.
“I only go into the forest with a pepper spray,” complains the tenant of the Ackernalm below the Sonnwendjoch, which is popular with day trippers. It is not far from Bayrischzell on the Tyrolean side. As a hunter, she has seen the bear paws in the snow several times near her deer feeding, she says when asked by t-online. But her name should not be mentioned, she says. “Because all this is currently being hyped up, especially since bears were killing sheep in the border area last August,” explains the farmer’s wife. She knows “that we have several bears here”.
Bear tracks in Bavaria are nothing new
In the valley near Landl, there were tracks right next to a house, Tyrolean hunters reported last year to Hajo Gruber. He is mayor of Kiefersfelden in the Inn Valley on the German side. “This bear in the Thiersee valley, which has been located there for a long time, has never been conspicuous,” says Gruber in an interview with t-online. “He has never approached anyone.”
In principle, however, a bear can of course be dangerous, Gruber emphasizes, because this was shown by the reports from Trentino with the bear attacking a jogger. That’s why he invited employees of the responsible State Office for the Environment (LfU) to get their own picture of the situation on site. “It’s better to think than to panic,” says Gruber at the end of the conversation.
Political actors are not so relaxed about the evidence of a bear in the Miesbach district. The alpine farmers in particular are very concerned here. After the wolves now the bear looking for prey. This should also be taken seriously by nature lovers, warns Miesbach’s District Administrator Olaf von Löwis. Before heading out into the mountains, you should find out what to do if you come across a large predator, just as a precautionary measure.
What to do when a bear appears
“However, I do not believe in a blanket removal of every large predator that passes through. In fact, the population of all large predators – I make no distinction between wolves, lynx and bears – must be sensibly regulated. Conspicuous animals that approach humans, for example , must be able to be removed as quickly as possible and without much bureaucracy,” said von Löwis at the request of Bayerischer Rundfunk. His Garmisch colleague Anton Speer demands something similar from the Free Voters.
Von Löwis, however, wants to “continue to coordinate closely with the district administrators of the Alpine districts”. One thing must be clear to everyone: “With a population of wolves or bears, the cultural landscape of our Alps will change radically; alpine pastures will no longer be cultivated, small-scale farming, as is demanded in every Sunday speech, will no longer exist, mountains will become overgrown , protected animal and plant species will become extinct and mountain sports will only be possible to a limited extent,” said von Löwis in his assessment.
“You know this proven bear,” says wildlife biologist Christine Miller from the “Wildes Bayern” association in Miesbach. “Last year there were also sheep tears.” Because the Mangfall Mountains are simply “a wonderful hiking corridor for bears”. It is therefore not surprising that bears keep reaching the Inn Valley on their wanderings, where they cannot continue because of the raging river.
When a bear in Bavaria should be shot
The bear tracks discovered in the snow are initially no cause for concern for Miller. “But what you absolutely have to do is to genetically analyze the droppings. If there are incidents somewhere, you can prove that a specific bear is responsible.” You really have to be able to “distinguish between good and bad bears”.
This requires precise monitoring, Miller demands. So far, however, the state government has “successfully refused”. However, if a problem bear is found, it must be removed. “But this saves the lives of inconspicuous, shy bears. The acceptance of a bear here depends on it.”
