Brown bears are an iconic symbol of the Tatra Mountains’ wild nature. While they mainly reside within the Tatra National Park, they often roam beyond its borders, venturing into nearby villages. These visits usually go unnoticed, though the Park also receives information about bear visits, records from home surveillance cameras or traces such as overturned bins and scattered rubbish. The root of the problem lies in accessible anthropogenic food- unsecured compost heaps, improperly closed trash bins, and leftover food scraps. Habituating bears to the presence of humans and easy “fast-food” is a direct path to cause a permanent, negative change in the behaviour of these animals, which can lead to potentially conflictual situations, with long-term negative consequences for both people and wildlife.
In the film, Dr Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica presents the real situation of bears in the Tatra Mountains – on one hand, these animals have access to natural, well-protected habitats, but on the other hand, they are increasingly exposed to contact with humans. To prevent conflict, both residents and tourists must follow a few simple but essential rules. Rubbish should be stored inside buildings with solid doors, and bins and bags should only be place out on the day of collection. Compost bins, as well as beehives, cages, and animal enclosures, should be protected with electric fencing. This is an additional effort, but also a reasonable and necessary cost for the privilege of living close to wild nature.
The film was created as part of the LECA project, implemented by the Tatra National Park together with eleven other partners. The project promotes the coexistence of humans and large predators – wolves, lynx and bears – and focuses on improving the monitoring of their populations, reducing human-wildlife conflicts, and preventing poaching.
The LECA project builds on three main pillars: monitoring, conflict reduction and poaching prevention. An international team is tasked with developing consistent and effective monitoring methods that engage local communities and various stakeholders, such as hunters, farmers, local governments and state institutions. This collaborative effort aims to produce up-to-date data on large carnivore populations in cross-border regions and to identify proven conflict prevention measures for implementation across the Carpathian region. These measures will be grounded in strengthened participatory cooperation at the local, regional and transnational levels. Wolf, lynx and bear populations are crucial to the functioning of forest ecosystems in this region, and they require effective protection and proper management, particularly in light of increasing human-wildlife interactions and emerging challenges. The LECA project is funded by Interreg Central Europe, a programme of the European Commission.
Source: Tatra National Park (Facebook)