Over a period of 100 years, the brown bear was nearly eradicated from the Alpine region.
By the early 20th century, only one Alpine
bear (
Ursus arctos) population remained in the Trentino region of the Italian Alps. By the 1990s, even this population was threatening to go extinct with only 3 or 4 bears remaining. Luckily, the recovery of important natural bear habitat and the formation of policy-level protection measures saved the bear from completely disappearing from the Alps.
Today, with the help of restocking and reintroduction programmes, the bear is slowly returning to former Alpine territory. But its return is not without opposition and many challenges will need to be overcome before a viable Alpine bear population can establish itself.
For instance, bears that are leaving the core areas to settle in new Alpine regions are mostly males. Without a female presence in these areas, the expansion of the core Alpine bear population will not be possible. Even more troubling is the recent extinction of bears in the Northern Limestone Alps (Austria) which demonstrates how fragile small and isolated populations can be.
What we do
Of all the challenges facing the return of the bear to the Alps, low acceptance remains one of the largest. WWF is working to reduce human-bear conflict by preparing both Alpine communities and tourists for the return of the bear through education and effective bear management.
