Last weekend, paw prints of a bear were discovered in the districts of Rosenheim and Miesbach.
All animals sighted in Germany probably come from the population in Italy, says the LfU. Adolescent male bears in particular often travel long distances in search of their own territory. Therefore, individual animals migrated to the northern Alpine region and as far as Bavaria.
What does the bear live on?
Brown bears are primarily herbivores. Three quarters of their diet consists of fruit, nuts, acorns, chestnuts or beechnuts. In spring, after their hibernation, bears eat roots, grasses, herbs and insects. At this time of year, however, they feast on meat from game or grazing animals, mostly carrion.
Is the bear a danger to humans?
Bears are shy animals. According to experts, it is extremely unlikely that hikers will meet a bear. Attacks on people are extremely rare, explains the Bavarian environmental agency. At the beginning of April, however, a bear attacked and fatally injured a jogger in Trentino. The animal with the identifier was finally caught and turned out to be the sister of “Bruno”. She is now to be euthanized.
Only when a bear has learned that there is food near people does it lose its natural shyness, said Christian Pichler from WWF Austria on Thursday on Deutschlandfunk. Bruno and the now-caught bear also learned this behavior from their mother. “Unfortunately, such bears can no longer be left in the wild.”
Unfortunately, people in this country have forgotten how to live with these animals, says Pichler. In view of individual problem cases, one should not “put all the bears in one pot” and “do not solve every conflict immediately with a shotgun”.
What to do if you meet a bear?
In any case, keep calm, withdraw slowly, avoid jerky movements. That’s the advice of the World Wildlife Fund.
If the bear does attack, it may be a sham attack – with the purpose of driving the unwanted intruder away without touching him. Then you should stand or lie face down on the floor. Likewise, if the animal attacks physically.
Good to know: if the bear rears up on its hind legs, it is not a threat. He then holds his nose into the wind to better orientate himself.
In any case, it is pointless to run away or climb a tree: bears are skilled climbers and can reach speeds of over 50 kilometers per hour on the ground.
What is the function of the bear in the ecosystem?
Species researchers see the previously widespread predators of wolves, lynxes and bears as useful animals that help to keep an ecosystem healthy: wolves and lynxes would help to reduce the high populations of red deer, roe deer and wild boar in Germany – and prevent them from growing young trees to eat bare and turn over fields.
Bears maintain a forest by being predominantly vegetarians, spreading a wide variety of plant seeds in their territory with their droppings. Also because they eat carrion and sick animals, bears are important for the health of the ecosystem, according to the WWF.
Will there be more bears from Trentino in Germany in the future?
The Bavarian Environment Agency does not assume so. A bear population spreads very slowly, it says, and daughter bears usually try to secure an area close to their mother. Only the young males continue to roam around in order to connect with unrelated animals. If they don’t find a partner, they return to their homeland, Trentino, Italy.