Human–Bear Conflicts at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century: Patterns, Determinants, and Mitigation Measures
Miha Krofel, Marcus Elfström, Hüseyin Ambarlı, Giulia Bombieri, Enrique González‐Bernardo, Klemen Jerina, Andrés Laguna, Vincenzo Penteriani, James P. Phillips, Nuria Selva, Seth M. Wilson, Alejandra Zarzo‐Arias, Claudio Groff, Đuro Huber, Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, Yorgos Mertzanis, Eloy Revilla, Carlos Bautista
Abstract
Conflicts between humans and bears have occurred since prehistory. Through time, the catalogue of human–bear conflicts (HBC) has been changing depending on the values and needs of human societies and their interactions with bears. Even today, conflict situations vary among the eight species of bears and geographically across these species' ranges. This results in a broad range of interactions between bears and humans that may be considered as conflicts, including: (1) predation of domestic or semiwild animals, including bees, hunting dogs, and pet animals; (2) damage due to foraging on cultivated berries, fruits, agricultural products, and the tree bark in forest plantations; (3) economic loss due to destruction of beehives, fences, silos, houses, and other human property; (4) bear attacks on humans causing mild or fatal trauma; (5) bluff charges, bear intrusions into residential areas; and (6) vehicle collisions with bears and traffic accidents. In this chapter we aim to outline the principal types of HBC and geographical differences in the occurrence of conflicts and the coexistence between people and bears.