Naslov
Brown bear damages and identification of human-bear conflict hotspots in Croatia.

Autori
Hipólito, Dario ; Reljić, Slaven ; Rosalino, Miguel ; Huber, Djuro

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Book of Abstracts of the 24th International Conference on Bear Research & Management (IBA). / - Anchorage (AK), 2016, 46-46

Skup
24th International Conference on Bear Research & Management.

Mjesto i datum
Anchorage (AK), Sjedinjene Američke Države, 12.06.2016. - 16.06.2016

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Brown bear, human-conflict, Croatia.

Sažetak
Before World War II, bears were almost exterminated from western and southern Europe. Deforestation, together with persecution due to livestock depredation, were the main causes of brown bears populations’ decline. However, the development of adaptive behaviours by bears to cope with such disturbance factors and survive in anthropic areas resulted in an occasional and slow return of bears to regions previously occupied. The management of this predator is highly complex due also to the human-wildlife conflicts derived from livestock depredation and crops destructions. The most common solution to minimize these conflicts is the implementation of damage prevention and compensation schemes. In Croatia, the mitigation of human-bears conflict is based on the adoption of the ex- post compensation method. This compensation is managed and paid by local hunting organizations that have a quota for bear hunting, determined by the Ministry of Agriculture. The present study aims to analyse brown bear’s damage evolution in Croatia, assess the importance of protection measures as a preventing procedure to minimise brown bear damages and identify bears’ damage hotspots in Croatia. We reviewed all the damage reports provided by hunting organizations to the responsible ministry from 2004 to 2014 and analysed the overall number of damage claims and costs. A total of 343 damage claims were identified and paid, corresponding to a total of 76.525 USD. The evaluated reports showed a high variation in the number of claims derived from different causes (crops, livestock, beehives and others). Damage claims locations showed two possible main human-bear conflict hotspots: northern and western region of brown bear’s range. Our revision clearly shows that, between 2004 and 2014 in Croatia, some activities (crop and fruit cultivaton followed by livestock farming) are more prone to be affected by bear presence than other. The data also confirms that productive areas with no protection measures against bears are more prone to bear damages, having thus higher damage claims. The analysis of the type and spatial distribution of damage claims and their costs is the first step to evaluate the extent of human-wildlife conflicts and a starting point for effective management actions focused on sustainable human-wildlife co- existence.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija, Veterinarska medicina

POVEZANOST RADA