2008BEAR REPORT

www.orso.provincia.tn.itmailorso@provincia.tn.it

AUTONOMOUS PROVINCEOF TRENTO

CERTIFIED

FORESTRYAND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT

WILDLIFE OFFICE

General coordination and supervisionDott. Ruggero Giovannini

CoordinationDott. Claudio Groff

Edited by:Dott. Davide DalpiazCarlo FrapportiDott. Claudio GroffIsp. F. Paolo Zanghellini

With the collaboration of:Councillor F. Luciano AnesinRenato RizzoliBrown Bear Research and Conservation Group,Adamello Brenta Nature Park

Layout and graphics:APT Wildlife Office / Publistampa S.N.C.

Cover:“Small Brown Bear”Friedrich Specht (Germany 1839-1909)

Photo:Forestry and Wildlife Department archives

Printed by:Print centre of the Autonomous Province of TrentoTrento, January 2009

CONTENTS

Presentation page 5

Introduction page 6

1. Monitoring page 7

2. Compensation and prevention of damage page 21

3. Management of emergencies page 28

4. Communication page 36

5. Training page 41

6. National and international links page 42

7. Research and conferences page 43

Appendix: presence of the lynx in Trentino in 2008 page 45

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Presentation

Management of the brown bear in Trentino is carried out by the provincial administration throughthe Forestry and Wildlife Department, on the basis of its statutory responsibilities and existingregulations regarding the protection of wild fauna.The Department’s main partner at operational level is the Adamello Brenta Nature Park, (ABNP)which promoted the Life Ursus project during the latter part of the 1990s, thanks to which thesurvival of the bear in our mountains was ensured. The park collaborates in various activities,particularly in the field of research, monitoring and communication.Given the national and international importance of managing a species such as the bear, the Ministryfor the Environment and the Safeguarding of Land and Seas (MESLS) and the Istituto Superiore perla Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA) also represent indispensible institutional andtechnical-scientific partners.Ten years after it was started, the project is now entering a new and more mature phase, due to theexpansion taking place over time in the population originating in the bears released and thanks tothe experience gained meantime in the field by the organisations and staff involved in managementactivities.As stated on several occasions, the final objective is however still a long way off, also due to theemergence of problems linked to social acceptance, requiring further efforts in terms ofcommunication and the refinement of operational strategies.In this context, the second Bear Report, a technical document drawn up by the Wildlife Office, intendsfirst of all to provide accurate, clear, up-to-date and detailed information on the status of the bearpopulation roaming over western Trentino and neighbouring regions and nations. Secondly, it aimsto record in a precise and analytical manner a range of data illustrating the management techniquesimplemented, in order to make it possible for those in the field to make use of this data.The first objective falls fully within the context of the information campaign “Getting to know thebrown bear”, started up by the provincial administration in 2002, the Report representing one of themost important elements in terms of technical and scientific communication, whereas the secondobjective is more specifically related to operational and management aspects. However, both respondto the need to provide the technical staff and authorities concerned with new and improvedknowledge, in order to facilitate decision-making and provide the community with a greaterawareness of the technical and cultural significance of the project.In addition to the main partners nominated previously, our heartfelt thanks also go to all those, inparticular Trento Natural Science Museum (TNSM) (Vertebrate Zoology and Education Department),who in various ways have collaborated in order to realise the individual initiatives in the programmesof action, above all to the staff of the Wildlife Office, the forestry personnel working in forestrydistricts and stations and the custodians, park wardens, gamekeepers and volunteers who have madea concrete contribution towards the realisation of the projects and gathering the information withoutwhich this Report could not have been written.Finally, this year an appendix to the Report also provides the presence in western Trentino of a lynxcoming from Switzerland, taking a further step in a direction which could over time result in thisdocument becoming a more extensive report on the presence of large alpine carnivores in theprovince.

DOTT. MAURIZIO ZANIN

Manager, Forestry and Wildlife Department, APT

The brown bear has never completely disappea-red from Trentino, which is thus the only area inthe Alps that can proudly affirm the continuouspresence of bears.However, protection of bears, which began in1939, has not eliminated the risk of their beco-ming extinct. Direct persecution by man and, toa lesser extent, modifications to the environmenttaking place in the last two centuries, reducedthe original population, bringing it to the thre-shold of extinction. At the end of the 1990s therewere probably no more than three or four bearsremaining, confined to the north-eastern Brentaarea. However, just when all seemed lost, therewas turn in fortunes, originating in the actiontaken by ABNP, which started up the Life Ursusproject, together with APT and INFS. Between1999 and 2002 this led to the release of 10 bears(3 males and 7 females), giving rise to the po-pulation which is the object of this report. Therelease of the bears was preceded by a detailedfeasibility study supervised by INFS, whichascertained the environmental suitability of asufficiently large area to play host to a viablebear population (40-60 bears), which is the ul-timate aim of the project. This area extends wellbeyond the confines of the province of Trento,also involving neighbouring regions.Following the conclusion of the phase involvingthe release of the animals, the phase of ordinarymanagement of the bear population, perhaps evenmore demanding, began in 2002. For this purposethe provincial government laid down the opera-tional policy on which these management activi-ties should be based in resolutions no. 1428 andno. 1988 of 26 June 2002 and 9 August 2002. Inparticular, six action programmes were identified(monitoring, damage management, managementof emergencies, staff training, communication andsupra-provincial links), which also represent themain guidelines followed in this report.

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Introduction

Monitoring of the bear has been carried out con-tinuously by the Autonomous Province of Trentofor more than 30 years. Over time, traditionalnaturalistic techniques have been supplementedby radiotelemetry (the first radio collars wereused in Eurasia, in the second half of the 1970s),automatic video controls by remote stations,photo-trapping and finally, in the last few years,by genetic monitoring.This last technique is based on the collection oforganic samples and takes place using two meth-ods commonly defined as systematic monitor-ing, based on the use of traps with scent bait,designed to “capture” hairs using barbed wire,and on opportunistic monitoring, which isbased on the collection of organic samples (hairsand excrement) found in the area during de-

partmental activities. Since 2006, systematicmonitoring in the area constantly frequented bybears has taken place in alternate years and wasstarted up again on a broad scale in 2008. Ge-netic monitoring was carried out for the sixthconsecutive year with the coordination of theForestry and Wildlife Department of APT and thecollaboration of ISPRA and ABNP.

Genetic databaseA total of 412 organic samples were collected inthe province of Trento in 2008, of which 329 inan opportunistic manner and 83 using the sys-tematic method with scent traps.Graph 1 shows the trend, with the number ofsamples collected in the last seven seasons.

The 412 samples were collected by the staff ofthe Forestry Service of the Autonomous Provinceof Trento (FS) (254 - 62%), by ABNP (148 -36%), by volunteers (9 - 2%) and by the staff ofthe Associazione Cacciatori Trentini (ACT) (1). A

further 38 samples were collected outside theprovince (in the provinces of Bolzano, Brescia,Bergamo, Verona and Vicenza), contributing to-wards determining the total number of bearsidentified.

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0

100

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300

400

500

600

700

800

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 TOT.Opport. 45 125 319 193 228 205 329 1444System. 4 227 464 154 255 135 83 1322TOT. 49 352 783 347 483 340 412 2766

Years

OpportunisticSistematicTotal

1. Monitoring

Graph 1

No. of DNA samples per methodology

Genetic analysis was carried out by techniciansfrom ISPRA. The samples collected, mostlyhairs and faeces, but also tissue and blood frombears found dead or captured, were sent to thelaboratory for genetic analysis. The first phaseof the analysis involves extraction of the DNA.In the case of hairs the DNA is obtained fromthe cells found at the root, whereas in the caseof faeces it comes from cells sloughed off dur-ing digestion and contained there. The DNAisolated in this way is amplified using the poly-merase chain reaction technique (PCR) to iden-tify the individual using microsatellite markers,the sex using markers linked to sexual chro-mosomes and in order to distinguish bear sam-ples from those of other species of mammalsusing mitochondrial DNA. Analysis of kinshipwas then carried out to identify new cubs andthe respective parents and to reconstruct thepedigree of the population. The tests were car-ried out on the basis of standard protocols andthe data was validated using population genet-ics software. The organic samples collected canbe analysed in the standard manner (results atthe end of the season) or in more urgent cases,using faster methods (results within one weekof receipt of the sample).

Status of the population at theend of 2008Processing of the data collected has provided thefollowing information regarding the brown bearpopulation present in Trentino and neighbour-ing regions in 2008.From this year, newborn animals have been iden-tified with progressive numbering preceded bythe letter “F” for a female and “M” for a male.Information regarding the identity of the parentsis at all events known and available in a specificdatabase.

Definitions•• “recorded bears”: bears whose presence has

been ascertained genetically or by unequivocalobservations during the last year;•• “unrecorded bears”: bears for which no genetic

evidence has been found in the last year alone;•• “missing bears”: bears certainly or most likely

no longer present within the population, as theyhave been found dead, killed, taken into captiv-ity or for which no genetic evidence has beenfound in the last two years;•• “cubs”: bears aged between 0 and 1;•• “young bears”: males between the age of 1 and

5 and females between the age of 1 and 3;

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2008 BEAR REPORT

•• “adults”: males over the age of 5 and femalesover the age of 3.

Overall 27 animals were traced genetically dur-ing 2008; however three of these died during theyear (JJ3, a male aged 2.5; KJ2G1, a female aged2.5 and F1, a female cub). The minimum numberof bears present during 2008 was therefore 24(see Graph 2); 12 females and 12 males - sex ratioF-M 1:1 (n=24). It is believed that in 2008 almostall the bears making up the population were tracedgenetically. If bears not geneti-cally traced in the last yearalone (4) are considered andthose missing for two or moreyears (8) are excluded, it canbe estimated that there is apopulation of 24-28 bears.The opportunistic monitor-ing technique was again shownto be fundamental in 2008. In-deed, in total (also consideringthe samples gathered outsidethe province) no lessthan 26bears were identified, of which19 exclusively using this tech-nique, whereas 12 bears wererecorded using systematicmonitoring, of which only 1exclusively using this method(see Graph 3).

ReproductionIn 2008 there were three certain litters, with atotal of eight cubs. Daniza gave birth to threecubs (two females, F1 and F3 and a male, M2),KJ1 gave birth to three cubs (two females, F2and F4 and a male, M1) and KJ2 gave birth totwo cubs (two males, M3 and M4).This was Daniza’s third litter in Trentino (she isthe only bear to have given birth three times), allbeing made up of three cubs (2004, 2006, 2008).For KJ1 and KJ2, both now seven years old, this

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Graph 2

Structure of the population at the end of 2008

Graph 3

Recorded bears

was their second litter (both having given birth toa total of four cubs). There have therefore been 16litters recorded in Trentino in the last seven yearsand at least 35 cubs have been born (18 males,

16 females and 1 of undetermined gender)(Graph 4). The average number of cubs per litterwas 2.19 (n=35) and the M-F sex ratio is 1.12:1(2002-2008, n=34).

Reproductive animals. There are still only twosexually mature males and there will probablynot be any others in 2009 at least, as the oldestmales recorded this year, (excluding Joze andGasper) are only four years old (MJ4 and MJ5). Joze has reproduced in six years, whereas Gasperonly in the last three. The first bear has repro-duced nine times with seven different females(for a total of 19 cubs), whereas the second hasreproduced eight times with six different females(for a total of 15 cubs). Daniza, MJ2 and KJ2 arethe only females to have mated with both males;Kirka, Jurka, Maja and Brenta have only matedwith Joze; KJ1, DJ1 and DJ3 only with Gasper.There have been ten reproductive females todate: the five founders (Jurka, Daniza, Maja,Brenta and Kirka) and five bears born in Trentino(KJ1, KJ2, MJ2, DJ1 and DJ3).

As already stated, Daniza has given birth threetimes (with a total of 9 cubs); Maja (five cubs),Jurka (five cubs), KJ1 (four cubs) and KJ2 (fourcubs) have reproduced twice, always in alter-nate years; Kirka (two cubs), Brenta (one cub),MJ2 (two cubs), DJ3 (two cubs) and DJ1 (onecub) have given birth only once. Two females ofreproductive age no longer seem to be present(Kirka and Maja), a third has died (Brenta) anda fourth was taken into captivity (Jurka). How-ever, this year a further two females have be-come potentially mature (JJ4 and KJ1G1),bringing the number of reproductive femalescurrently present to nine. As shown in Graph 5,six female bears will potentially be able to re-produce in 2009, as the remaining three gavebirth in 2008 and would not normally be ex-pected to give birth again before 2010.

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Graph 4

N° of cubs and litters 2002 – 2008

Bears not recorded in 2008Four bears present in 2007 were unrecordedfor the first year in 2007 (DG3 a female born in2006 and DJ1G1, DJ3G1 and DJ3??, respec-tively a male, a female and a cub of undeter-mined gender born in 2007). They have not yetbeen classified as “missing” bears (see Defini-tions), as there is a concrete possibility that theyare still present.

Missing bearsA further bear (MJ2J1, born in 2006), has in-stead been added to the list of missing bears, asfor the second year running no genetic traceswere recorded in 2008. Genetic monitoring hasalso highlighted the absence of all seven bears al-ready missing during 2007.In 2008 three deaths were also ascertained: JJ3,a male born in 2006, F1, a female cub and KJ2G1,a female born in 2006.Considering that in previous years a further fivebears were already absent, having been founddead (3), killed (1) or taken into captivity (1),there were a total of sixteen missing bears at theend of 2008. It should at all events be borne inmind that it is theoretically possible, albeit un-likely, that some of these (8) are still present.

Thus 3 out of the 9 founder animals (Joze, Gasperand Daniza) and 21 out of the 35 bears born inTrentino were certainly present in 2008 (so intotal at least 24 bears out of the potential 44).Considering that some of the animals notrecorded may nevertheless be present (this is es-pecially valid for the four bears unrecorded in2008 alone), it is possible to estimate the per-centage of “missing bears” (dying from naturalcauses, killed, unrecorded for at least two years,taken into captivity) at around 36% of the theo-retically possible population (see Graph 6).

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Graph 5

Expected/actual reproduction

Graph 7 highlights the balance between births/missing bears year by year. In 2008 there was apositive balance (+4). This was the result of eightbirths, three deaths and a new bear considered tobe missing. The total balance between births/miss-

ing bears in the period 2002-2008 is +19; byadding the 9 founder bears to these we arrive at atotal of 28 bears, including the 24 bears presentand the four animals unrecorded in the last yearalone, as shown in the third column of Graph 6.

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Graph 6

Present/missing bears (2008)

Graph 7

Population balance

Of the missing bears six areadults, six are young ani-mals and four are cubs(Graph 8).Furthermore, no genetictraces have been foundfor eight of the missingbears in the last two years,seven have died and onehas been taken into cap-tivity (Graph 9).The cause of the deaths(Graph 10) was natural inthree cases (MJ1, DG1 andBrenta) and linked to hu-mans in the other four cases(JJ1 and JJ3 killed legallyabroad, KJ2G1 died in anaccident during a captureoperation and F1 followinga road accident).

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Graph 8

Missing bears:Age groups (2002-2008 - n = 16)

Graph 9

Missing bears:causes (2002-2008 - n = 16)

Graph 10

Dead bears:causes (2002-2008 - n = 16)

The trend for the smallpopulation remains posi-tive despite the lossesrecorded and estimated. Asthe numbers are small thepopulation is still at risk;we are still at the stage inwhich even casual individ-ual episodes could compro-mise development.The percentage of bearsin the three age groups(adults, young bears andcubs) in the period 2002-2008 is shown in Graph 12.For the first time there wasa percentage increase inthe adult age group.

Structure of the populationAs regards the structure of the population (atleast as regards the animals ascertained),eleven adults (nine females and two males), sixyoung bears (all males) and seven cubs (fourfemales and three males) were recorded at theend of 2008. Graph 11 shows the trend for the

2002-2008 period. The fact that all the younganimals in 2008 were males can also be ex-plained by considering that the females areclassified as young animals for only one year oftheir life, the second, whereas the males areclassified as young animals for three years (seeDefinitions).

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Graph 11

Age groups

Graph 12

Age groups in %

It is also interesting to note the evolution in theaverage age of the bear population overthe six years examined (Graph 13); in 2008, forthe second consecutive year, there was a slightincrease in average age (now 4.42).

Use of the territory2008 was again characterised by the disper-sion of young bears. The Val d’Adige, situatedto the east of the area usually frequented by thebears, was crossed for the first time south ofBolzano by a young male(KJ2G2), just to the northof Ala. Indeed on 25 Aprilthere was the first certainrecording of a bear in east-ern Trentino (Vallarsa),several years after the lastreports, which howeverconcerned an individualfrom the eastern alpinearea; genetic analysis car-ried out on samples of haircollected on site made itpossible to ascertain that itwas the same animal thathad spent the previousmonths on Monte Baldo inthe Verona area (see Figure1). The bear subsequentlymoved even further east,frequenting the area of the

Asiago tableland (VI) up to the end of the year.In 2008 at least five animals, all young malesthree or four years old, were recorded with cer-tainty outside the boundaries of the province:JJ3 in Switzerland, MJ4 again in Switzerland

and the province ofBolzano, subsequently re-turning to Trentino, DG2 inthe province of Bolzano, JJ5in the provinces of Bresciaand Bergamo and KJ2G2 onMonte Baldo (VR) and sub-sequently, as has alreadybeen mentioned, on theAsiago tableland (VI). Thefact that these movementsconcern five out of the sixyoung males believed to bepresent confirms the ten-dency for territorial expan-sion.It is interesting to observethat the male MJ4, aged 4,after having roamed oversouthern Tyrol and Switzer-land for a couple of seasons,

returned at least temporarily to Trentino to thenorthern Brenta area; the male MJ5, last seasonnoted in the province of Bolzano, also seems tohave stayed mostly around the upper Val di Non(TN) this year.

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Graph 13

Average age of bears

Figure 1.Movements of the bear KJ2G2 from March to May 2008

Considering also the longest transfers made byyoung males during 2008, the bear populationin the central Alps, which retains its centre inwestern Trentino, can currently be considered tobe distributed over a theoretical area of around17,000 Km², although the area occupied by thefemales in a stable manner is definitely smaller(around 1,160 Km²) and situated within theprovince (see Figures 2 and 3). The areas occu-pied have been estimated using the minimumconvex polygon method, applied to 100% of thelocations available. This also led to the inclusionof vast areas which are not suitable and/or not

actually used (e.g. Lake Garda), above all withinthe macro-area including all the movements ofthe young males. The average density recordedin such an enormous area (c. 0.25 bears/100Km²) thus provides a figure which is not statisti-cally significant. The relative density of the areafrequented by the females in a stable manner (c.20-22 bears over an area of 1,160 Km², namely1.7 - 1.9 bears/100 Km²) instead correspondswith the data presented in the bibliography in re-lation to the alpine environment and the forecastsof the feasibility study which preceded the LifeUrsus project.

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Figure 2. Area in which bears were present in the central Alps in 2008 (in red), highlighting the internal area occupied by females in a stable manner (in green)

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Figure 3.Detail of the area occupied by females in 2008

Other monitoring activities in 2008 As will be discussed in more detail in the sec-tion regarding the management of emergen-cies, during 2008 two female bears (DJ3 andKJ1G1) were captured and fitted with radiocollars, as their behaviour had made closermonitoring of their movements necessary. Thefemale founder bear Daniza was also moni-

tored using radiotelemetry, but only up until12 April, when the collar fell off in the ValBrenta. The 2008 home ranges (livingspaces) of the first two bears extended re-spectively over 81 km² and 24 km² (respec-tively 1,216 and 306 GPS locations availablefor the periods 13 July–31 December and 27September–31 December) and are shown inFigures 4 and 5.

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Figure 4.Home range of DJ3 in 2008

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Figure 5.Home range of KJ1G1 in 2008

Monitoring of densIn spring 2005, the Adamello Brenta Nature Parkbegan a survey designed to provide informationabout the areas used by bears for hibernation,using a standard procedure. The research wascarried out within an area in the BrentaDolomites and the Gazza-PaganellaMountains, (coinciding with the Adamello BrentaNature Park and the surrounding areas).In 2008 a survey was carried out with the scopeof analysing microclimatic conditions inside densused or potentially exploitable, with the convic-tion that temperature and humidity orient theecological winter choices of the species. Thestudy made use of i-button temperature and hu-midity sensors (DS1923 Hygrochron Tempera-ture/Humidity Logger i-Button model). In summer 2008, 59 sensors were placed inside58 hollows: 27 of these were actually used asdens (with the presence of bedding material)while 31 hollows were potentially usable (twobuttons were placed in one of these, which wasparticularly large). The ultimate scope of thisphase of the investigation is to monitor all knownhibernation sites by 2010, together with a signif-icant number of potential hollows, in order togain more information about the climatic char-acteristics of the hollows in the months duringwhich the bears hibernate, also including sur-

veying of the period immediately before andafter. At the same time the search for and moni-toring of new hibernation sites and potential hol-lows continued. During exploratory activities in2008 4 new hibernation sites were discoveredand described and were added to the 59 discov-ered during exploration of the territory (1988-2007) over a period of 20 years. 4 new potentialhollows were also discovered, which were addedto the 72 found during previous exploratory ac-tivities.

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Figure 6.Positioning of a sensor to survey temperature and humidity insidea den in the Brenta mountains.

APT has gained more than thirty years’ experi-ence as regards compensation and preventionof damage caused by brown bears. Indeed,since 1976 100% of all damage has been reim-bursed and it is possible to acquire preventiveworks (mostly electric fencing), either withfunding covering up to 90% of costs or througha system of gratuitous loans. The relative regu-lations, dealt with in article 22 of provincial lawno.24/91, have been revised several times andupdated over the years, most recently withProvincial Government resolution no. 2296 of3 November 2006, also on the basis of the di-rectives imposed by the Provincial Governmentin the previously mentioned resolution no.1988 of 9 August 2002. The regulations re-garding works for the prevention of damagewere instead last updated with resolution no.232 of 5 May 2006 of the manager of theForestry and Wildlife Department.

Compensation for damagecaused by bearsIn 2008 149 notifications of damage were for-warded to the department and 127 claims forcompensation were received. 22 notificationswere not followed by formal presentation of

claims for compensation (for 5 of these the rel-ative report certified that the damage had beencaused by dogs rather than bears, in one casethe report concluded that bears had no respon-sibility for the damage as the cause of death ofthe cow was an accidental fall from the rocks,in one case of damage to crops it was shownthat deer were responsible, whereas in theother 14 cases the limited extent of the dam-age discouraged those damaged from request-ing compensation). All the 127 claims madehave been processed, 122 were accepted and 5refused (in three cases the prevention worksprovided by APT had not been mounted, in onecase the inspectors found that dogs were re-sponsible for the damage and in one case thecarcasses of the animals said to have beenpreyed on have not been found). In 84% ofcases inspections were carried out to check onthe damage reported, followed up by specificreports ascertaining the damage. Overall, € 62,168.02 compensation was paid. To date, 2008 is thus the year seeing the largestamount of damage. Closer examination of thefigures shows that the beekeeping sector wasthe mean factor in this increase, also due to thefact that damage to beehives continued into the

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2. Damage compensation and prevention

Graph 14

Damage compensated from 1990 to 2008

late summer and autumn, in contrast with pre-vious seasons.On the other hand, it is worth noting thatwhere prevention works were correctly in-stalled and used (both for livestock and thebeekeeping sector) these allowed the damageto be reduced significantly. It is sufficient to re-call, for example, that there were two largeherds with a total of 2,500 animals presentthroughout the summer in the southern Brentamountains; despite the almost constant pres-ence of bears, only 4-5 animals were lost as aresult of action by bears.Graph 14 shows the trend in the damagerecorded over the years, whereas graphs 15, 16,17 and 18 show the chronological distributionof this damage in 2008 and in the period 2002-

2008, both as regards the number of incidentsand the compensation paid. In all cases theyrefer to four types of damage: “livestock”, “bee-keeping”, “crops” and “other”.

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Graph 15

N° of incidents by type 2002 to 2008

Graph 16

Amounts paid by type 2002 to 2008

In 42 cases, namely for around 30% of the dam-age recorded, genetic monitoring made it pos-sible to identify the bears involved with cer-tainty. The data shows that two female bears(DJ3 and Daniza) alone caused around 50% ofthe damage for which the author was identified.By adding a further three bears it is possible toattribute around 80% of the damage in questionto this group. This reinforces the theory that afew bears tend to cause damage on a regularbasis, with a few bears causing damage on rareoccasions.The geographical distribution of the damagerecorded can be seen in Figure 7. For graphic rea-sons this does not include an incident of damagein the municipality of Grigno (eastern Trentino).

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Graph 17

N° of incidents by type in 2008

Graph 18

Amounts paid by type in 2008

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Figure 7.Geographical distribution of damage caused by bears in 2008

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Graph 19

Preventive works funded from 1989 to 2008

Graph 20

Preventive works funded from 2002 to 2008 by type

Prevention of damage by bearsIn 2008, 95 applications for funding were pre-sented for prevention works designed to pro-tect assets from damage by brown bears; 6 werewithdrawn by the applicants and 89 have beenprocessed, for a total of 77 works (31 designedto protect beekeeping and 46 to protect live-stock), with an overall expenditure of € 18,413;almost all of these involved the stipulation ofgratuitous loans; 8 applications were rejected

and the others are still being processed. Belowit is possible to see the trend for preventionworks over a number of years (Graph 19), thedifferent types of work in the period 2002-2008(Graph 20) and the distribution of such worksover the different months in 2008, with refer-ence to animal husbandry and beekeeping.(Graph 21).The geographical distribution of the works set upin 2008 can be seen in Figure 8.

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Figure 8.Geographical distribution of preventive works

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Graph 21

Preventive works funded in 2008 by type

On 7 June 2008 and 18 June 2008, two prefab-ricated structures were transported by helicop-ter in order to allow shepherds to remain close totwo large flocks throughout the mountain graz-

ing season (at Valandro and Prada, respectivelyin the municipalities of Stenico and Dorsino); on25 September 2008 these were once again takenback down to the valley.

The law of 11 February 1992 no. 157 includesthe brown bear among the species granted spe-cial protection (art. 2, paragraph 1).The D.P.R. of 8 September 1997 no. 357 (subse-quently amended and supplemented by D.P.R.120/03), implementing the 92/43/EEC directiveregarding the conservation of natural and semi-natural habitats and wild flora and fauna, in-cludes this species in enclosures B (species ofEEC interest, whose conservation requires thedesignation of special areas of conservation) andD (species of EEC interest which require strictprotection), thus considering the brown bear asa priority species. The current national legal framework thereforeforbids the disturbing, capture and killing oflarge predators (D.P.R. 357/97, art. 8). However, action may be taken to control problembears in critical situations, in accordance with theprovisions of national, regional and provincial reg-ulations (D.P.R. 357/97, art. 11, paragraph 1; L.157/92, art. 19, paragraph 2; L. 394/91, art. 11,paragraph 4 and art. 22, paragraph 6).Indeed, in order to avoid conflict with human ac-tivities and for reasons of public safety or forother compelling reasons of relevant public in-terest, the possibility of an exception to the banon the capturing or killing of animals is providedfor, subject to the authorisation of the Ministryfor the Environment, Land and Seas, having con-sulted ISPRA, on condition that there are noother practicable solutions and that departurefrom the rules does not prejudice the satisfactoryconservation of the populations of the protectedspecies, (D.P.R. 357/97, art. 11 paragraph 1).

In the province of Trento the management ofemergencies represents a field of action in which

it has only been necessary to operate in the lastfew years, given the considerable expansion inthe bear population and more specifically as aresult of the presence of a few animals consid-ered to be “problematic”.In July 2003 the Ministry for the Environment,Land and Seas authorised the AutonomousProvince of Trento, according to D.P.R. 357/97and subsequent amendments, to intervene asprovided for in the special “protocol for actionregarding problem bears and intervention in crit-ical situations”. This protocol provides the technical guidelineson the basis of which the Forestry and WildlifeDepartment, which represents the provincial or-ganisation of reference, has identified, trainedand equipped the staff in charge of interveningin these situations. Operational management inTrentino is based on the use of staff from theprovincial forestry service, to which the Forestryand Wildlife Department makes recourse,through the setting up of a special unit which ison call.This has been operational since 2004 and is ac-tive each year from March to November. In 2008it was made up of 9 coordinators, who have thesupport of an emergency team made up of twounits, on call in turn, with a group of speciallychosen staff made up of 14 members.When necessary the team is joined by a veteri-nary surgeon. In this context, in 2008 collabo-ration was started up for the first time with theveterinary staff of the provincial health services,who were provided with special training.

Activities of the emergency teamDuring 2008 the most critical situations involvedon the one hand two young female bears (KJ1G1and KJ2G1, aged 2), which frequented the areaaround the towns on the Paganella tableland forseveral weeks starting from the spring, search-ing for sources of food (mostly organic waste,also in the towns of Andalo and Molveno) (seeFigures 9 and 10), and on the other a further fe-male bear (DJ3, aged 4) which preyed on nu-merous beehives close to towns during thespring and a number of sheep at mountain pas-ture during the summer.

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3. Management of emergencies

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29

Figure 9.The town of Andalo. The organic waste bins are indicated in red, while the points visited by the bear are shown in green

Figure 10.The town of Molveno. The organic waste bins are indicated in red, while the points visited by the bear are shown in green

The bear DJ3 instead displayed an overconfi-dent attitude towards man, even attempting toprey on sheep during the day and in the pres-ence of people.On the basis of these elements and bearing inmind the provisions of the crisis plan for thecapture of problem bears, it was decided to cap-ture and fit radio collars to the three femalebears in question. The following paragraph

summarises the main data regarding the phasesof capture.

The emergency team intervened 74 times dur-ing 2008, in 15 cases with direct interventioninvolving firing rubber bullets at the animal(nine times at DJ3 , twice at KJ1G1 and KJ2G1and four times at unidentified bears, includinga female with cubs – see Graph 22).

In the other cases the intervention was limited toguarding the area and providing information tothe population.Action to dissuade bears fitted with radio col-lars, before and after capture, therefore repre-sented most of the direct action taken on bears

carried out by the emergency team in 2008 (on11 occasions out of 15, namely 73%).The locations where intervention involving theemergency bear team took place in 2008 areshown in Figure 11 (direct action on animals inred).

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Graph 22

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31

Figure 11.Locations for action involving the emergency bear team in 2008

Captures In order to organise the management of emer-gencies there is a "capture team” made up ofstaff specially trained for these activities. Thisteam is supported by the veterinary staff of theprovincial administration.In 2008 it was necessary to capture the bearsdisplaying the critical behaviour described in theprevious paragraph, in order to fit them withradio-collars. On the evening of 13 July in the Valle del Chiesea 95 Kg female bear which had repeatedly at-tacked herds in the municipality of CastelCondino was captured using the free-rangingtechnique (namely by shooting the animal withan anaesthetic dart from a capture gun withoutpreviously immobilising her) and fitted with aradio-collar. Rapid genetic testing showed thatthe bear was DJ3 (aged 4.5).On the night of 26 September on the Paganellatableland a young female (aged 2.5) weighing130 Kg, which had been feeding off organicwaste and compost, also close to the towns ofAndalo and Molveno, was instead captured usingAldrich snares and fitted with a radio-collar.Rapid genetic testing showed that the capturedanimal was KJ1G1. During a further attempt atcapture using the free-ranging technique on thenight of 12 June, a female bear (KJ2G1, aged2.5, which had also visited organic waste-binsclose to towns) died by drowning in Lake Mol-veno following an accident. In the period of timebetween the administration of the anaestheticand the search for the animal (15’, provided forin the capture procedure in order to ensure thesafety of personnel), the bear slid down a par-ticularly steep slope on the banks of the lake,ending up in the water, presumably at preciselythe time the narcotic began to take effect.During the capture procedures two further tech-niques were also adopted: automatic snares withbait (foot snare) and tube traps. The three cap-ture procedures took a total of seven days inorder to prepare the sites (four-five persons onaverage) and twelve days for the capture (three-four people on average). The supplying of thesites equipped with snares or tube traps (foursites) involved around fifteen days’ work overall.

Close encounters with femalebears defending cubsIn at least two cases there were situations inwhich females accompanied by cubs born thatyear took action to defend their young from per-sons they considered to be a possible menace.On 13 May 2008 at Prà Antich-Giustino a fe-male accompanied by three cubs born that year (most probably Daniza) came within 8-10 m ofa forest warden who had approached uninten-tionally; when the man began to move awaythe bear turned back, following the cubs whichhad in the meantime moved away from thearea. According to the report of the warden, thebear also left thanks to the intervention of hisdog, which briefly followed the bear. However,there is no certain evidence that the presence ofthe dog led to the departure of the bear,whether this was irrelevant or whether it mayeven have contributed towards the alarm of thebear.On 14 October 2008 at Baselga del Bondone,Trento, a female bear (probably KJ2), accom-panied by cubs, as it was later possible to as-certain from the tracks left on the ground onthe site, twice approached the owner of a fieldof maize rapidly in the period of a few seconds.He had come to the field to check for damage.The bear apparently exhibited aggressive be-haviour, growling at the man in order to en-courage him to leave the area. Again in thiscase the departure of the person concernedbrought the close encounter to an end. In bothcases the behaviour of the bears was compati-ble with the experience noted in the bibliogra-phy or recorded for European bear populationsand did not therefore require any particular in-tervention, except for the intensification ofmonitoring in the period immediately follow-ing.Another situation leading to potential emer-gencies regards road accidents involving col-lisions with bears. During 2008 there werefour road accidents, bringing the total numberof collisions recorded from 2001 to nine. Therelevant information regarding these is given inthe following table, which sums up all the casesrecorded to date.

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* The identity of the bear was ascertained genetically**An inspection was carried out promptly using dogs, suggesting that the animal or animals moved way autonomously

N° Date Location Bear/s involved Sex and age Fate of bear/s

130 August 2002 Laives (BZ)

(A22 motorway)Vida Female aged 4.5 Injured quite

seriously butsurvived

24 November2005

Preore(prov. road 34)

DJ3 Female aged 2 Survived andwent on toreproduce*

328 June 2006 Fai

(prov. road 64)MJ2 Female aged 3.5 Survived and

went on toreproduce

428 October 2006 Caldes

(highway 42)Unknown Unknown Unknown**

529 October 2007 Ciago

(prov. road 18)Unknown Unknown Unknown**

618 July 2008 Villa Rendena

(prov. road 34)Daniza + 3 cubs Female aged 13

with 3 cubs bornthat year

Death of afemale cub

722 July 2008 Nembia

(prov. road 421)KJ1G1 Female aged 2.5 Survived without

anyconsequences

816 August 2008 Strembo

(prov. road 236)Daniza + 2 cubs Female aged 13

with 2 cubs bornthat year

One cub injured,probablysurvived

915 October 2008 Bus de Vela

(highway 45 bis)Unknown Unknown Unknown**

Road accidents

Transport of Jurka to CastelerOn 13 April 2008 , Jurka was transported to thenew enclosure at Casteler (photo on the right).Furthermore all activities relating to the care ofthe bear and maintenance of the enclosure weredealt with, including work designed to improvethe management of the animal in captivity. Sub-sequently authorisation for the possible holdingof a second and third bear inside the enclosurewas obtained.

Waste management and signposting of road-crossingsIn collaboration with the Waste ManagementDepartment, action was taken to guarantee aninitial distribution of bear-proof waste bins inthe most vulnerable areas by the spring of2009, also with experimentation of differenttypes of bins.A similar initiative was directed at the RoadsDepartment in order to request the placing ofappropriate signs along the roads most fre-quently crossed by bears.

Training of bear dogsDuring 2008 the training of the two Russian-Eu-ropean Laika bear dogs and their handlers con-tinued, based on a special training programmemaking reference to the literature available and tothe experience of the suppliers (see section onTraining). Further material necessary to maintainthe dogs was also purchased.It is still intended to acquire two more dogs in thefuture, to be entrusted to a further two handlers,bringing the number of animals able to work si-multaneously to four.

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2008 BEAR REPORT

The “case” of JJ3JJ3, the son of Jurka and Joze, born in 2006, fre-quented the area of the Grigioni Canton (CH),mainly around Lenzerheide, the Albula valleyand Savognin, starting from June 2007, afterhaving made his way through the Stelvio na-tional park (Trafoi – BZ, May 2007). Startingfrom the summer of the same year he also began

to look for food insistently close to in towns(mostly in waste bins) and did not display anyfear of man.In an attempt to modify his behaviour the Swissauthorities captured the bear on 12 August2007 and fitted him with a radio-collar (seephoto below – www.kora.ch). This was followedby various attempts to dissuade the bear

(mostly through the firing of rubber bullets),both in autumn 2007 and spring 2008, whichhowever did not obtain the effect hoped for, asthey failed to modify its behaviour. It was thusclassified as a “dangerous bear”, in accordancewith the provisions of the “Swiss plan for bearmanagement – 2005”, as it represented a “riskfor the safety of people”. In accordance with the

measures provided for in the aforementionedplan, the authorities of the Swiss Federation andthe Grigioni Canton decided to have the animaldestroyed and this took place on the evening of14 April 2008. Throughout the process de-scribed above there was constant communica-tion with the Forestry and Wildlife Departmentof APT.

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35

Communication is considered by the provincialadministration to be an aspect of fundamentalimportance in the management of bears and rep-resents one of the six action programmes re-ferred to in the previously mentioned resolutionof the provincial government no. 1988 of 9 Au-gust 2002.Considering this, starting from 2003 a specificinformation campaign was started up called“Getting to know the brown bear”, which con-tinues to involve numerous initiatives. This re-

port, which among other things also has an in-formative role, is one of the initiatives designedto allow the wider public to better understandthis animal, with the conviction that only knowl-edge can lead to harmonious coexistence withthe bear in the medium to long-term.With regard to communication activities, theForestry and Wildlife Department has alwaysbeen supported by the Adamello Brenta NaturePark, which has been active in this field formany years in its area and by the Natural His-tory Museum of Trento, which has offered edu-cational activities on bears for schools from thevery beginning.The main activities undertaken during 2008 aresummarised below.

Evening sessions and meetings15 evenings were organised within the contextof the information campaign “Gettingto know the brown bear”, some of which pro-moted by the Adamello Brenta Nature Park. Thetable below shows the locations and dates onwhich they were held; a total of 800 people par-ticipated.

Informative material producedand distributed3,810 copies of the brochure “In the land of thebear” were distributed and 3,000 new ones wereprinted. Furthermore 500 new posters entitled"The bear: part of our history" were printed anda further 1,000 renewed graphically (with aphotographic rather than a pictorial image).

Communication project forschools: “Getting to know thebrown bear”, in collaborationwith the Trento Natural ScienteMuseumFor the fifth consecutive year the TNSM contin-ued to offer a programme of tried and tested ed-ucational activities on the subject of brown bearsin Trentino. The activities are kept up-to-datethanks to coordination with the Wildlife Office ofAPT, which guarantees updated information and

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2008 BEAR REPORT

4. Communication

Place Date N° ofparticipants

Trento NaturalScience Museum

6 February 80

Mezzana 4 April 80

Avio 10 April 75

Spormaggione* 9 May 26

Vallarsa 15 May 90

Denno* 16 May 50

Massimeno* 30 May 18

Breguzzo* 13 June 15

Andalo* 5 June 14

Molveno* 19 June 25

Dorsino* 7 August 12

Castel Condino* 20 August 100

Arco 15 September 65

Baselga del Bondone

21 November 110

Luserna 30 December 35

* promoted by the Adamello Brenta Nature Park

consultancy on the content. The 2008-2009 edi-tion of the guide to the educational activities ofthe museum also published all the educational ini-tiatives realised in collaboration with the Forestryand Wildlife Department, as has taken place sincethe 2003-2004 edition. In 2008 the guide wasagain subdivided into three volumes dedicated tothree different stages in schooling (nurseryschools, primary and middle schools, secondaryschools and “over 14s”). There were five types ofactivity offered:•• “Hands-on museum” a guided visit to the mam-

mals room, with particular emphasis laid on thebear and other large carnivores, with the op-portunity to see and touch particular types ofmaterials (skulls, casts of footprints, hairs etc.);•• “Laboratory”, a 3 hour interactive activity,

partly providing information on the bear andother large carnivores (powerpoint, variousmaterials) and partly practical (simulation ofradio-tracking, realisation of plaster cast offootprints, recognition of mammal hairthrough the use of educational worksheets);

•• “Travelling Museum”, an activity divided intothree sessions, two in the classroom and one(the middle one) involving a trip to an areafrequented by bears to look for any signs oftheir presence;•• “From the Museum to nature”, a guided trip

lasting a morning to an area frequented bybears to look for any signs of their presence;•• “Meeting the expert”, a seminar taking a more

detailed look at the subject, in the form of aconference lasting 2.5 hours and reserved forsecondary school pupils.

In the period 1 January 2008 - 31 December2008 the following educational activities werecarried out, involving a total of 233 participants:•• 7 guided visits to the exhibition hall on the

theme “The bear and other mammals inTrentino”, with 105 participants;•• 5 interactive laboratories on the theme “The

bear and other large carnivores in the Alps,with 86 participants;•• 2 trips “On the trail of the brown bear”, with

42 participants.

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Press releases11 press releases concerning bears were issued.

N° 41 of 10 January 200823 bears were identified in Trentino andneighbouring regions last seasonTHE BEAR: THE FORESTRY AND WILDLIFEDEPARTMENT ISSUES DATA REGARDINGGENETIC MONITORING IN 20076 animals (young males) also frequented areasoutside the confines of the province

N° 201 of 1 February 2008The document edited by the Forestry andWildlife Department of the ProvincePRESENTATION OF THE "2007 BEARREPORT" ON WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY ATTHE NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM

N° 246 of 5 February 2008The Forestry and Wildlife Department of APTand the Adamello Brenta Nature Park willprovide an update on the status of thepopulation and research underwayTHE BEAR: A SUMMARY OF THE SITUATION TOMORROW EVENING AT 20.45 AT THETRENTO NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUMOn this occasion the “2007 Bear Report” willalso be presented and distributed

N° 257 of 7 February 2008Edited by the Forestry and Wildlife Departmentof the Autonomous Province of TrentoTHE “2007 BEAR REPORT" HAS BEENISSUED AN IMPORTANT INFORMATIVE ANDANALYTICAL DOCUMENT It was presented yesterday evening at TrentoNatural Science Museum.It is divided into seven sections and canalready be consulted on the internet

N° 409 of 22 February 2008The Province provides information on thepresence of bears in Trentino2007 BEAR REPORT: PRESENTATION OF THESTUDY SUMMING UP THE CURRENTSITUATION

N° 1719 of 13 June 2008The bear was shot with an anaesthetic dart BEAR DIES IN LAKE MOLVENO DURING ANATTEMPT TO CAPTURE IT

N° 2034 of 14 July 2008BEAR CAPTURED AND FITTED WITH RADIOCOLLAR IN VALLE DEL CHIESEThe action was taken to allow better control ofthe animal, which had displayed over-confidentbehaviour

N° 2082 of 18 July 2008BEAR CUB HIT BY CAR IN THE LOWER VALRENDENA

N° 2298 of 17 August 2008COLLISION BETWEEN SUV AND FAMILY OFBEARS AT BOCENAGO

N° 2319 of 20 August 2008Following the bear cub hit in the Val Rendena theProvince calls for greater respect for regulationsCOLLISIONS INVOLVING WILD ANIMALS:ATTENTION MUST BE PAID TO SIGNS ANDLOW SPEED IS COMPULSORY FOR EVERYONE Almost 400 cases a year in Trentino, aphenomenon depending on the large numbers(more than 50,000 ungulates) and mobility ofthe animals and the extent of the road network

N° 2580 of 27 September 2008BEAR VISITING WASTE-BINS ON THEPAGANELLA TABLELAND CAPTURED ANDFITTED WITH A RADIO-COLLARThe trap was prepared by the staff of theprovincial forestry service and sprang intoeffect at 3.30 last night

Other initiatives related to communicationConsultancy and information was supplied bythe Forestry and Wildlife Department in the fol-lowing cases to the press, media and televisionchannels:•• Article “L’orso bruno in Trentino: la situazione

a fine 2007” in “Terra trentina” no. 4 of April2008;•• Article “L’orso bruno in Trentino: aggiorna-

mento 2007” in “Bollettino SAT” no. 1, firstquarter of 2008;•• Article “Die Bären kommen” in “Schweizer

Familie” no. 33, 14 August 2008 (Swiss mag-azine published monthly);•• Article in “Lo scarpone” magazine of the Club

Alpino Italiano - December 2008;

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2008 BEAR REPORT

•• Article “L’orso: patrimonio delle Alpi”, in “Ilcacciatore trentino” no. 72, June 2008•• Article “Genetic monitoring of bears in

Trentino - Italy (2007)” in “I.B.A. news”, vol.16 no. 2 – June 2008;•• Participation in a debate on the brown bear

during “Filmfestival della Montagna”, held inTrento on 29 April 2008;•• Interview with TCA, 15 and 16 November

2008 (News programme of the Cimbrian lin-guistic minority)

In the year underway, the activities of the Parkhave made it possible to publish the followingarticles regarding bears.

•• Article “Gli orsi in Trentino” in “Parchi e Ris-erve. La rivista della Natura” no. 2 of April2008;•• Article “Una nuova convivenza” in “Adamello

Brenta Parco” no. 2 of May 2008;•• Article “Adamello Brenta Nature Park e ATIt

fanno il punto sui mammiferi d’Italia e delTrentino” in “OASIS-Rivista di cultura ambi-entale” of May 2008;•• Article “Die Umsiedelung – eine Methode für

Artenschutz“ in “Wildbiologie“ no. 2 of June2008;

•• Article “Le tane degli orsi. Studi del Parco Nat-urale Adamello Brenta e consigli per gli es-cursionisti“ in “Rivista agraria.org“ no. 63 ofJuly 2008;•• Article “Der Bär ist los!“ in “Schweizer Familie”

no. 33 of 14 August 2008;•• Article “De grands voisins à la force tranquille”

in “Pro Natura magazine” no. 4 of August2008;•• Article “Vita da Orso“ in “SABATOSERAON-

LINE” of 15 October 2008;•• Article “Dieci domande sugli orsi” in

“Adamello Brenta Parco” no. 3 of November2008;•• Article “Un’altra chance dopo l’estinzione” in

“Darwin-Bimestrale di Scienza” no. 28 of No-vember/December 2008;•• Article “Storia di orsi in Trentino” in “Pro

Natura magazine” in print.

“I Fogli dell’Orso”. During 2008 the AdamelloBrenta Nature Park continued to produce thebulletin/newsletter “I Fogli dell’Orso”, publish-ing three issues: no. 17 (April), no. 18 (August)and no. 19 (December). The number of peopleregistering in the relative mailing list has ex-ceeded, 1,000, a sign of the constant interestthat the bear arouses among the general public.

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39

The “Bear centre” at Spormaggiore. During2008, the “Bear centre” in Spormaggiore wasvisited by a total of 4,756 people.

Accompanied visits. Within the context of theAdamello Brenta Nature Park Summer 2008 pro-grammes the "Bear trails" initiative was realisedin two different valleys in the park (Val Brentaand Val di Tovel).During the activity the objectives of the projectin terms of conserving the bear and the maintechniques adopted by staff to understand themovements and habits of the bears were ex-plained. There were 45 sessions with a total of420 participants.

Intervention in schools. In the context of ac-tivities with schools, the Park realised three ini-tiatives:•• “Bear Project: the return of the bear to the

Alps and coexistence with man” - educationalproject with 2 classroom sessions and 1 trip tothe Bears Visitors’ Centre at Spormaggiore –

39 classes from 21 schools with a total of 591pupils participating;•• “Large Carnivores Project” – an educational

project with 2 classroom sessions and 1 trip –5 classes from 5 schools with a total of 85pupils participating;•• “A day with the bear” – a visit to the Bears Vis-

itors’ Centre at Spormaggiore – 56 classesfrom 23 schools with a total of 980 pupils par-ticipating.

Web sites. The site www.orso.provincia.tn.it wasfurther updated and all sections completed;monthly updating was also guaranteed. It is cur-rently organised into 124 pages and receives morethan 20,000 visitors a year. The site also containsthis report and the documents mentioned it.

During 2008 implementation and updating ofthe content in the section of the ABNPweb site (www.ABNP.it) dedicated to the bear(20 pages overall) continued. In addition to in-formation on the history of the bear, the projectfor its reintroduction and the research carriedout by the Park Brown Bear Research and Con-servation Group, it is also possible to downloada number of documents regarding the surveyscarried out by the park.

Stand. During the ExpoRiva fair, dedicated tohunting, fishing and the environment (29-30March 2008), a stand was set up regarding wildlifein the province of Trento, with particular attentionbeing paid to the bear. On this occasion 800brochures about the bear were also distributed.

Questions and motionsThe following replies were given in response toquestions and motions regarding bears.

Question no. 3111 of 05/02Security measures to protect from the danger deriving from the presence of bearsat Ciago playground

Question no. 3338 of 21/05On damage caused by bears to beekeeping inthe Vallarsa

Motion no. 634 of 06/08“Amico Orso”: a special campaign to informand educate the Trentino people

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2008 BEAR REPORT

The correct management of the bear populationis inextricably linked to the availability of staffspecially trained and prepared to deal with anyproblems of a technical and non-technical na-ture that may arise during activities in the field,above all as regards the management of emer-gencies, dealing with damage and, to a lesser ex-tent, monitoring. Training represents one of thesix action programmes referred to in the pre-viously mentioned resolution of the provincialgovernment no. 1988 of 9 August 2002.APT’s staff are given specific training which isconstantly updated. The training opportunitiesrealised during 2008 are given below.

Main training initiatives for APTstaff•• Meeting to check on the progress of trainingfor the dogs and handlers of the forestry ser-vice (Casteler, 9 February 2008). This tookplace within the context of the initiative in-volving the purchasing of a certain number ofRussian-European Laika bear dogs, for thepurpose of monitoring and for the dissuasionof problem bears. The dog-handler evaluationsheet drawn up by the supplier of the dogs onthis occasion gave an extremely positive as-sessment of the level of training reached;•• Training for dogs and handlers (Spormag-

giore, 26 February 2008), with simulation ofaction to deal with bears, using a stuffed bear;•• Training for dogs and handlers (Mattarello,

17 March 2008), with simulation of helicop-ter flight;•• Direct dog-bear contact; first with a visit to

Jurka’s enclosure (in spring) and following therelease of the two bears fitted with radio-col-lars on 13 July and 26 September;•• Training course for ASL’s veterinary staff and

for veterinary staff acting as figures of refe-rence for the department for questions regar-ding bears (11 March 2008); a further mee-ting with ASL vets was held on 8 July 2008;•• Coordination and training session for contactsin the animal husbandry sector (10 July2008);•• Visit to Banff (Canada, 21 May – 3 June

2008). The trip allowed the participants to ac-

quire useful information and exchange opi-nions about the best techniques to adopt in ac-tivities related to the management of bears(communication, emergencies, damage andmonitoring), with particular reference to is-sues relating to the management of emergen-cies and damage. On two different eveningsthe Trentino experience was also illustrated tothe local public. The visit was returned by Ca-nadian colleagues from 20 to 27 October; du-ring the week in Trentino informative eveningmeetings were held for the public (at TrentoNatural Science Museum) along with trips inthe field with the staff of the forestry serviceinvolved in the management of the bear.

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5. Training

Links with neighbouring regions and states takeon a strategic importance in the management ofsuch a highly mobile species as the brown bear.Bearing this in mind, even before the start of theLife Ursus project, official contact was made withneighbouring regions, it being clear that the areaof western Trentino was not sufficiently large tohouse a viable population of bears. Over timethese relationships have been strengthened andconsolidated, with regard both to the territorialexpansion of the small population that has ef-fectively concerned neighbouring regions andstates and the effective policy coordination im-plemented by the Provincial Government withthe previously mentioned resolution no. 1988 of9 August 2002.Following this, links transcending provincialboundaries were institutionalised and with theinput of the Ministry for the Environment, Landand Seas and the coordination of APT the Ac-tion Plan for the Conservation of the BrownBear in the Central-Eastern Alps (PA-COBACE)” was recently approved (summer2008) by all the partners (Lombardia andVeneto being the last two); in addition to the Au-tonomous Province of Trento this also involvesthe Autonomous Province of Bolzano and theLombardia, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia Re-gions. In particular, during 2008 APT also coor-dinated the latest and definitive phase of ap-proval for the Plan of Action mentioned.Activities designed to guarantee transnationalcoordination also continued, in light of the ex-tensive movement of young bears recorded inneighbouring areas in the last three years.

In the context of international collaboration, thefollowing meetings with colleagues from otherregions or nations took place: •• Munich 28-30 April 2008: (fourth transalpine

coordination meeting for the management ofproblem bears; on this occasion APT was theonly Italian representative);•• Life-Interreg initiative: meetings held on 14

May in the Pyrenees and on 11 December inTrento, to evaluate the possibility of startingup an Interreg or Life project for the manage-ment of man/bear conflict (Trentino, Abruzzo,Greece, France, Spain);

•• Collaboration as regards systematic geneticmonitoring with the Autonomous Province ofBolzano (Spring 2008);•• Meeting in Asiago (14 July 2008): the pres-

ence of a bear on the Asiago tableland startingfrom last summer led to numerous meetingsand exchanges of information with colleaguesin Veneto. On the request of the provincial ad-ministration in Vicenza, the department par-ticipated in a public meeting, providing tech-nical support along with images andinformation regarding the Trentino experienceof managing bears;•• A Swiss technician visited Trentino (22-25

July 2008) within the context of collaborationwith the Swiss authorities;•• Study trip to Switzerland (Grigioni) – 5-6 Au-

gust 2008;•• Meeting in Innsbruck on 15 September 2008,

to evaluate the possibility of using the Con-vention of the Alps as a platform for discus-sion of the management of large carnivores,also at policy level;•• German and Swiss visitors came to view

Jurka’s enclosure on 29-30 September 2008;•• Visit of a delegation from the province ofBolzano (17 October 2008): a delegationmade up of representatives from the manage-ment bodies of the nature parks in the Au-tonomous province of Bolzano was accompa-nied to the Val di Non for a study trip designedto raise awareness of the methods adopted inthe province of Trento for the management ofbears. The day was organised in collaborationwith the Adamello Brenta Nature Park;•• Meeting of the Lombardia bear group, to which

APT belongs (Milan, 4 December 2008).

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2008 BEAR REPORT

6. National and international links

Research Following the recapture and subsequent fittingof a radio-collar (VHF and GPS transmitter) tothe female bears Jurka (2006) and Daniza(2007) by the Forestry and Wildlife Department,it has been possible to undertake new analysisand comparison with previous datasets, calcu-lating and comparing the home ranges, coreareas and selection of habitat of the bears re-leased. This has taken place with particular ref-erence to the changes that have taken place inthe two bears, comparing the period immedi-ately after release in Trentino with the period

following the fitting of the second radio-collar(i.e. at a distance of 5-6 years).The comparison between the two datasets car-ried out by the ABNP on the request of the Au-tonomous Province of Trento highlighted con-siderable differences in the way the differentbears made use of the space and habitat and inthe different periods of time considered. As anexample the home-ranges of Daniza are givenbelow (see Figure 12).

Survey into man-bear encounters. In order tofurther investigate encounters between men and

bears, the Wildlife Office ofABNP has undertaken a spe-cific two-year survey. Thestudy was carried out using aquestionnaire, completed inperson or on the telephone,by all those who have had ca-sual meetings with bears inthe area studied (representedby the whole of theprovince). This survey is ofconsiderable interest in termsof gaining greater knowledgeof the ethology of the bearand in particular as regardsits behaviour when it comesinto contact with man. Theultimate aim of the researchis to encourage coexistencebetween the two species,demonstrating that the bearis not an aggressive animalthrough statistical samplingof the bear’s reactions toman. Furthermore, the studyintends to investigate theemotional changes that maytake place in man following aclose encounter with a bear,namely any modificationsthat direct experience mayhave on the attitudes of thosein favour or against the pres-ence of the bear in the area.Finally, the study is intendedto gather tales of "extraordi-

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7. Research and conferences

Figure 12.Home range of Danza in 2001-2002 and 2006-2007

nary" encounters demonstrating how coming faceto face with a bear may be an intense and emo-tionally enriching experience.The work carried out to date has involved con-tact with 185 people, with a total of 355 ques-tionnaires completed (each meeting with a bearwas dealt with in a separate questionnaire). Thedata was then inserted in a special database, inorder to carry out appropriate statistical analysis.Graph 23 shows the results for the question re-garding the reaction of the bear to contact withman (355 cases), as an example of the resultsthat could be deduced from the processing of thequestionnaire in the next few months.

Conferences

With the participation of APT staff•• communication at the conference in Udine

(10 May 2008) “Sustainable transfrontiermanagement of wildlife resources”, within thecontext of Interreg III A Italy - Slovenia;•• communication at the conference in Luchon

in the Pyrenees (14-16 May 2008) “Bears,wolves and men: European initiatives for co-existence and development”;•• communication at the conference at PNS

(Prato allo Stelvio - BZ, 17 May 2008) “Co-existing with the bear: problems and experi-ence in Europe”;•• communication at the conferences in Banff –

Alberta (CAN) at Lake Louise on 25 May andat Banff Natural Science Museum on 27 May2008 with the title “Living with bears in theItalian Alps (Trentino): status of the popula-tion and management activities”;

•• communication at the conference in Postumia(SLO) 10-11 June 2008 “Pan European Con-ference on Population Level ManagementPlans for Large Carnivores”;•• communication at the meeting in Klagenfurt

(29 October – 1 November) “Coexistence be-tween bears and man: comparing experiences”.

With the participation of ABNP staff•• communication at the conference “Knowledge

and conservation of biodiversity in protectednatural areas in the Dolomites (BellunoDolomites National Park)” in RivamonteAgordino (11-12 April 2008) entitled “Con-

servation of biodiversity andthe presence of man: ’man-aging’ the bear";•• communication at the 6th

Italian Conference on The-riogenology: Research andConservation of mammals:a multidisciplinary ap-proach (Adamello BrentaNature Park, AssociazioneTeriologica Italiana, Soci-età Italiana di Ecopatologiadella Fauna)” in Cles (16-18 April 2008) entitled“The conservation of thebrown bear (Ursus arctos)in Trentino: 20 years’

monitoring of hibernation dens in theAdamello Brenta Nature Park".•• poster at the “6th Italian Conference on The-

riogenology: Research and Conservation ofmammals: a multidisciplinary approach(Adamello Brenta Nature Park, AssociazioneTeriologica Italiana, Società Italiana di Ecopa-tologia della Fauna)” in Cles (16-18 April2008) entitled “Anthropic disturbance andconservation of the brown bear (Ursus arctos)in the Adamello Brenta Nature Park" evalua-tion of the influence of anthropic activitiesthrough expert-based opinion";•• presentation at the “First International Wildlife

Reintroduction Conference” in Chicago (15-16 April 2008) entitled “Survey about Mam-malian Reintroduction”;•• communication at the conference “Management

of the Natura 2000 network (Liguria Region )”in Genoa (20-21 November 2008) entitled “Thebear project and exploitation of the area"-

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Graph 23 - Example of preliminary results obtained from analysis of the questionnaires

How did the bear react to your presence?

The presence of the lynx in Trentino in 2008

On 23 March 2008 a young male Eurasian lynx(Lynx lynx) weighing 24 kg entered Trentino bycrossing the upper Val di Sole. It arrived fromthe neighbouring Engadin valley (CH), where itspresence had been noted from the beginning ofDecember 2007. It was captured there on 22February 2008 by the staff of the Swiss NationalPark, to be fitted with a radio-collar and thusbetter monitored (Figure 1).The lynx crossed the upper Valtellina, in Lom-bardia, then reaching the Pejo valley in westernTrentino by crossing the Sforzellina pass at analtitude of more than 3,000 m (probably the

highest altitude ever documented in the Alps forthe feline). The presence of the lynx in Trentino,documented mainly through the GPS locationstransmitted by the radio-collar, was immediatelycommunicated by the Swiss National Park to theForestry and Wildlife Department of the Au-tonomous Province of Trento. Contact was madethe day after the fitting of the radio-collar, inview of the possibility of the young lynx movingover the border. The Associazione CacciatoriTrentini was immediately involved in monitor-ing of the animal, given the importance of hunt-ing as an element in the future of the species inthe Alps, together with the Stelvio National Parkand the Adamello Nature Park, their territoriesbeing concerned by the presence of the lynx.

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Figure 1 (photo: H Haller)

Appendix

The lynx, whose identifying code is B132, spentits first few weeks in Trentino on the left-handslopes of the Val di Sole, then moving into theupper Val di Non and briefly into the southernTyrol (Lauregno-Proves). It then moved decidedlysouth, visiting the Brenta mountains and estab-lishing itself there.The reappearance of the lynx in Trentino led someto speculate that it had been released illegally; infact this was completely disproved first by ra-diotelemetric monitoring and then by genetic tests,which demonstrated the natural and wild originof the young animal in the area. Indeed, geneticanalysis has shown that it was born in 2006 innorth-eastern Switzerland, in the S. Gallo canton,

where a small population of lynxes has been es-tablished since 2001, following the launch of theLuno project, which led to the release of at least12 lynxes coming from the Swiss Alps and the Juraarea.Between November 2006 and February 2007 lynxB132 was photographed three times using phototraps, together with its sister and mother, in thearea where it was born. In the subsequent months,B132 moved significantly away from its area of ori-gin and from the area where the species is presentin a stable manner in north-eastern Switzerland,making its way to the Engadin valley. Finally, fromthere its last major migration brought it first intoLombardia and then into Trentino (see Figure 2).

In the initial phases and subsequently only oc-casionally (at all events during the hunting sea-son) the staff of the Forestry and Wildlife De-

partment also monitored the presence of thelynx from the ground, using traditional ra-diotelemetry (VHF) (see Graph 1).

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Figure 2The area of origin of B132 (top left), the sites where it was caught in the photo traps (white squares), casual reports (green triangles, the capture site (red star) and radiotelemetric locations (blue circles) (data: www.kora.ch)

Graph 1 - Telemetric monitoring of the lynx in 2008 using different techniques

At the end of 2008, B132 was still in thewoods of the eastern Brenta mountains,around 200 km from the place it was born.This is the furthest migration ever docu-mented in the Alps for this species. The mon-

itoring carried out in the province during2008 made it possible to gather and processdata on the ethology of the young animal,summarised below.Figures 3, 4 and 5 highlight its home range.

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Figure 3Home range of lynx B132 in Trentino from 23/3/2008 to 31/12/2008 calculated using the minimum convex polygon method (MCP)

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Figure 4Home range of lynx B132 in the Brenta mountains from 17/4/2008 to 31/12/2008 calculated using the minimum convex polygonmethod (MCP)

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Figure 5Home range of lynx B132 in the Brenta mountains from 17/4/2008 to 31/12/2008 calculated using the LoCoH method

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Graphs 2 and 3 highlight respectively percent-ages related to the presence of lynx B132 in dif-ferent habitats and categories of vegetation (withreference to the home range calculated using the

LoCoH method which can be seen in Figure 18)and the prey of the lynx throughout westernTrentino. Both graphs compare use with relativeavailability.

Graph 2 - Percentage presence of lynx B132 in different categories of vegetation

Graph 3 – Use of prey by lynx B132

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Finally, as shown in Figure 6, the home range usedin a stable manner by the lynx from April to De-cember 2008 falls almost completely within the

area occupied in a stable manner by the brownbear population in 2008.

Figure 6Comparison between the home range of lynx B132 (in pink) and the core area of the brown bear population in 2008

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