Conservationists Welcome Bear Monitoring, Point to Need for Quality Research

Banska Bystrica, 23 August (TASR) - NGOs involved in nature conservation welcome the monitoring of brown bears, which is currently being launched by the State Nature Protection (SOP), while pointing, however, to the need for quality research and sample collection, and also noting that headcounts should be carried out regularly to track population trends. Last but not least, they noted that Slovakia doesn't have a problem with the total number of bears, but with problem individuals that approach human settlements. "Any monitoring of wild animals is beneficial to find out their number, behaviour, migration and distribution in the country. The DNA analysis method is currently the most accurate way to obtain real data and reduce the room for speculation. However, it will be crucial for the collection of samples and data to be methodologically correct, rigorous and transparent so that the results don't give rise to doubts," Ursia association chairman Jozef Martinsky has told TASR. DNA analysis, which SOP wants to use in its research, is also welcomed by other NGOs. "It should be added, however, that the nationwide collection of material for genetic analysis is too time-consuming, expensive and staff-intensive for it to be repeated regularly, which is the essence of monitoring. For this reason, it hasn't yet been possible to clearly assess the brown bear population trend from nationwide surveys of their number," conservationists from WWF Slovakia told TASR. The importance of making brown bear monitoring in Slovakia not a one-off affair is also perceived by an association called We Are Forest. "By repeating genetic analyses with comparable research methods, we can also examine population trends, i.e. whether the population of the species has increased or decreased during the period under study, and predict further population developments in the future," said Marian Hletko, a member of the initiative. However, he stated that state conservationists will monitor the bears only after the Environment Ministry has allowed the culling of hundreds of individuals. am/df/mf