Hunting ban saves bears, their population in Ukraine's Carpathians grows - The Times
Kyiv • UNN
Due to the hunting ban caused by Russia's war against Ukraine, the bear population in the Carpathian region of Ukraine has increased: residents and tourists are increasingly seeing bear tracks near human habitations.
Due to the military actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and the ban on hunting, bears have found peace from hunters. Currently, the traces of the world's largest predator are found by residents or tourists who go down mountain trails in the Carpathians, UNN reports with reference to The Times.
The ban on hunting caused by Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine may have given rise to an unlikely revival of the bear population on Ukrainian territory, where they were more common in past decades.
One morning last fall, Yaroslav Bundziak, the head of the bear rehabilitation program at the Synevyr National Park, came to work and discovered that someone had stolen his honey, seeing what was left of two hives in the grass. He immediately realized that it could only be the work of one culprit.
A few years ago you would never have seen a bear so close to human habitation
The Times also tells about the case of several people who confirmed that they found bear tracks while descending a mountain peak.
It should be noted that in 2021, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources approved an action plan for the conservation of the brown bear. Also, according to official data, there were a total of 90 bears in 2021.
According to the Ministry of Ecology of Ukraine, in 2023, the bear population in one part of the Carpathians increased to 104.
Thus it can be concluded that a bear species that was once widespread throughout Europe, but is now scattered in the wild, has now flourished again. Thanks to the fact that hunting has been banned in Ukraine.
Recall
Water has started to flow into the Kakhovka reservoir again. Recent satellite imagery shows that a large part of the formerly dry area of the reservoir is now covered with water.
