“Bruno’s sister and the dangers of bear encounters”

Bears are naturally shy and avoid encounters with humans. A direct encounter is therefore rather rare. However, it cannot be ruled out, as a current case from the Alpine region shows. There, a 26-year-old man from Trentino fell victim to Bruno’s sister while jogging. DNA analyzes revealed that JJ4 was related to the former “problem bear”.

The parents of JJ4 and JJ1 are two Slovenian bears, Jose and Jurka, who were brought to Italy between 2000 and 2001 as part of the EU project “Life Ursus”. According to official information, there are said to be around 60 bears in the area, which is around 120 kilometers south of Bavaria. With an upward trend.

According to the information provided by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (LFU) also migrate north in search of new territories. Border crossings and thus encounters with people as with Bruno and his sister are not excluded when looking for a new living space.

The WWF recommends preventatively speaking louder when hiking in bear areas, singing or carrying acoustic devices such as rattles and avoiding dense bushes. This is to avoid surprising a bear. Should an encounter nevertheless occur, there are a few rules of conduct:

• Keep calm and keep your distance
• Don’t run away. This could trigger stalking behavior by the animal
• Do not make any uncontrolled or frantic movements
• Do not throw objects at the animal
• If possible, retreat slowly and in a controlled manner
• Leave room for the bear to take an alternative

You behaved correctly and still an attack occurs? From the LFU Bayern there is also for this case behavior tips. “Lie face down on the floor or crouch on the floor with your hands behind your neck. If you have one, your backpack will protect your back.

The bear will usually let go of you or just sniff you. Stay where you are and wait for the bear to move far enough away.”

With any behavior you should always remember: Bears are large, defensive wild animals. Treat them with respect. Don’t try to approach a bear, let alone lure it. Give him room to retreat. Under no circumstances should you feed bears or leave leftovers.

The instinctive caution that bears show towards humans can be lost when the animals experience positive stimuli from humans. This can result in problematic or even aggressive behavior on the part of the bear.

BRISANT/lfu/wwf