Bears – Between Myths, Opinions and Truths

Switzerland’s first bear symposium in Landquart: experts discuss the return of the brown bear to the Alps.

Editorial team Wild beim Wild — 30 April 2016

Bears and humans can coexist, though societal adjustments are required to make this possible.

This is the key takeaway from Switzerland’s first bear symposium, held on Friday in Landquart.

At the event organised by WWF and Pro Natura, experts from Switzerland, Italy and Slovenia discussed the challenges associated with the bear’s return to Switzerland. After the last free-living specimen was shot on 1 September 1904 in Val S-charl in the Lower Engadine, bears have once again been regularly migrating from northern Italy into Graubünden since 2005.

At the bear symposium, Claudio Groff of the forestry and wildlife management authority of the northern Italian province of Trentino expressed his conviction, according to the environmental organisations, that bears and humans can coexist in the Alps. He said the key factors are informing the public, resolving conflicts, and a willingness to accept certain costs and inconveniences.

Only inconspicuous bears have a chance

According to the Graubünden hunting inspector, only unobtrusive and shy animals have a chance of coexisting with humans. Problem bears, he said, face a much more difficult situation. According to Brosi, acceptance by the local population is an indispensable condition for the bear’s return.

According to WWF and Pro Natura, the symposium made clear that the bear’s return requires societal adjustments. Protecting livestock herds and beehives, managing waste, and keeping predators away from settlements were identified as the key sticking points for coexistence.

Whether such adjustments succeed depends less on the bear, its biology or its habitat requirements, and more on “our perceptions and our willingness,” write WWF and Pro Natura.

What matters is the bear in our minds

At least eleven bears have migrated to Switzerland since 2005. Some of them have caused considerable uproar, while others passed through unnoticed. One thing is certain: more bears will visit Switzerland in the future. How can the return of this native wild animal be managed in a way that is as “socially compatible” as possible? This was the topic of discussion among international bear experts, Swiss wildlife rangers and conservationists today at the Bear Symposium organized by Pro Natura and WWF Switzerland in Landquart.

The tabloid «Blick» dubbed the first bear “Lumpaz” — meaning “rascal” — in 2005. Media goodwill was considerable at the time toward the first bear to roam Swiss soil 100 years after the species had been extirpated. The mood in the Poschiavo valley in 2013, when M13 ventured close to human settlements, was — both locally and in the «Blick» — considerably more aggressive.

These two extremes illustrate the full range of societal reactions to bears in this country. The internationally attended expert symposium on the return of the bear to Switzerland aimed to discuss proven solutions in an objective manner, thereby identifying paths toward a pragmatic approach to coexisting with this native wild animal.

Claudio Groff from the Forestry and Wildlife Management authority of the Province of Trento (Italy), where around 50 bears live, can draw on many years of experience. For him, the matter is clear: “Bears and humans can coexist in the Alps. What is decisive is informing the public, resolving conflicts, and the willingness to accept certain costs and inconveniences.”

“Only inconspicuous, shy animals stand any chance at all. Things become difficult for problem bears” — this is one of the conclusions drawn so far by Georg Brosi, the canton of Grisons’ hunting inspector, based on his experience. For him, it is clear that acceptance by the local population is a central element for the bear’s return with minimal conflict.

The debate over predators is a symbol of differing perspectives on nature, said Prof. Stefan Forster, Head of the Landscape and Tourism Research Division at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). For some people, the return of animals such as the bear represents a frightening loss of control, while for others it represents a romantic form of freedom and authenticity.

The bear symposium made it clear that the return of bears requires social adaptation. Protecting herds and beehives, consistent waste management, and keeping animals away from settlements are the key challenges for coexistence. Whether such adaptations succeed depends less on the bear, its biology, or its habitat requirements than on our perceptions and our will.

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