130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Table 2.
Latest population
estimates for
the Brown bear
globally, in Europe
and for European
populations. Please
note that populations
from Belarus, Ukraine
and Russia have not
been included.
Abundance and distribution:
current status
In terms of population size (Table 2), an estimate
from 2000 puts the global population at over
200,000 individuals. European populations (not
including most of Russia, and all of Belarus and
Ukraine) account for around 17,000 and therefore
for at least 8.5% of these. The largest populations
occur in the Carpathians (42%), followed by Scandinavia
(20%) and the Dinaric-Pindos region (18%)
(Table 2). At the country level, most individuals
are found in European Russia (9,700 in 2005 [12] (not
shown in Table 2)), Romania (6,000 in 2012 [13] or
35% of the European population excluding Belarus,
Ukraine and Russia) and Sweden (around 3,300 in
2012 [13] , accounting for around 97% of the Scandinavian
population; Table 2).
Although not included in the Figures presented
in Table 2, European Russia represents an
important stronghold of the Brown bear,
maintaining the largest population (39% of
the European estimate from 2008) and range
(covering more than 50% of the 2001 range [11] ,
most of which is unfragmented). Russian bears
are connected to the Karelian and Baltic populations,
and viability is high as both of these
populations are interconnected and mix with
the larger Siberian population [12] . Outside these
areas, populations are fragmented [12] . The species
is exploited in Russia, and the population trend is
classified as stable or slightly increasing [12] .
Romania is home to 6,000 [13] or 35% of
European Brown bears (Table 2) and trends are
believed to be increasing [12] . In 2005, the highest
densities occurred in the “elbow” of the Romanian
Carpathians in the counties of Brasov, Harghita,
Covasna, Vrancea, Sibiu and Arges [12] . Compared
to the European estimate from 2012, Sweden’s
increasing [12] population accounts for around 19%
of Europe’s total (Table 2). Bears occur throughout
Estimate Year assessed Reference
Global >200,000 2000
[10]
Europe (based on below) 16,929–17,164 2010–12
[13]
% of global population >8.5%
Cantabrian 195–210 2010–12
[7]
Pyrenean 22–27 2010–12
[7]
Apennine 37–52 2010–12
[7]
Alpine 45–50 2010–12
[7]
Eastern Balkan 600 2010–12
[7]
Dinaric-Pindos 3,070 2010–12
[7]
Carpathian (excl. Ukraine) 7,200 2010–12
[7]
Scandinavian 3,400 2010–12
[7]
Karelian (excl. Russia W of 35°E) 1,650–1,850 2010–12
[13]
Baltic (excl. Russia* & Belarus) 710 2010–12
[7]
* Russian oblasts of Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, Smolensk, Bryansk, Moscow, Kalinigrad,
Kaluzh, Tula, Kursk, Belgorod and Ore.
most of northern and central Sweden north of
60°N in three subpopulations [13] , although they are
rarely found on the Baltic coast [12] . Conservation
measures have been implemented but a number of
threats, such as persecution, remain [12] . Harvesting
is not an issue, as the population has increased
from 750 to 3,500 under a managed harvest
regime [2] .
Bears are believed to be extirpated in
Austria, and Switzerland only receives dispersing
individuals [2] . Numbers remain low in some
countries, e.g. in Latvia, where the population is
perhaps no more than 10–15 individuals [13] thought
to be migratory between Russia and the remaining
Baltic States [14] . Despite the small size and restricted
range of some populations and the problems
resulting from this, population trends are stable
in the core populations in Russia [12] and increasing
in Sweden (4.5% per annum between 1998 and
2007 [15] ). However, this situation represents the end
point in a varied history of abundance and range
changes in Europe, as discussed below.
Abundance and distribution: changes
Like many large carnivores, the Brown bear has
experienced a large reduction in range compared
with its historical distribution: by 1955, the
species occupied only 37% of its 1700s range,
losing the majority from Southern and Western
Europe (Figure 1a). In Switzerland, for example,
Brown bear range had contracted to around half
its 1800 range by 1850. By 1900, its range was
reduced by 75%, and only around 2% of its former
range remained in 1950 (Figure 2). This pattern is
mirrored in many western and southern European
countries. However, a comeback of the species has
been recorded in Europe (Figures 1a and b); by
2008, it had increased its range by 13% compared to
the mid-1950s, reaching 41% of its historical distribution.
There are also positive changes occurring
in northeastern countries, e.g. Latvia (not shown)
and Finland (Figure 3).
The recent recovery is also reflected in the
abundance trends of European Brown bear
populations, which have doubled over the last
45 years (Figure 4). The trend is based on 21
populations from across Europe, representing
a minimum of 8,200 individuals or 48% of the
total European population of 2010–12 and 52% of
all European countries of occurrence. Data were
missing from a number of locations within the
species’ current range, including Belarus, Estonia,
Latvia, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia,
Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and
Macedonia.
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