But what causes the bears to go into cities and towns? Why do the bears have become dull natural fear of man? About it our conversation with the doctor of biological Sciences, Professor of the Institute of problems of ecology and evolution them. A. N. Severtsova the Russian Academy of Sciences Leonid Buccinum, which examines the nature of these animals has more than 40 years.
Leonid Mironovich, Sakhalin, Chukotka, Yamal has developed even reminders to residents on how to behave when meeting a bear, so it became a commonplace phenomenon. But that bears not: it is no longer enough food? In the woods has changed the usual conditions?
Leonid Baskin: One of the reasons the dumpsters, landfills with food waste, standing on the outskirts of towns and cities. There are lots of pictures, which bears digging in the tanks, getting to the food. This is a very fearless and very adaptive animal. Known cases where the people themselves to lure bears with it. Which is not to be done. It’s still a wild ferocious animal, not a trained circus bear.
But, of course, not only the opportunity to eat out makes the owner of the taiga to come back to the people. After all, before the bears went to the villages only in the famine years. So, not so simple, free feeding is not the only answer to the question. The point here is also that lately the bears have less to hunt. Due to various reasons: there is no need to kill animals for food, and their skins are not particularly valued. And in General, we advocate the preservation of all living things that surrounds us. But a reasonable hunting serves as both a regulator of the number of bears and other large predators. Have less to hunt – the result is almost disappeared the so-called planning toed. In the taiga in the Northern regions has become much more than 10-15 years ago. To all the bear ceases to be afraid of a man with a gun, loses its natural fear.
is it bad when bears in the woods a lot? Who are they in the forest in the way?
Leonid Baskin: First of all, those who hunt these predators. In ungulates, elk, deer, reindeer, especially the very young. The bear is a specialist just for youngsters. In Chukotka, I had the opportunity to watch as bear pulled up from a dozen fawns. Have staskal them together, and very happy laid on its prey. The ratio of the number of large carnivores to ungulates should be one to 30, this is considered the optimal balance in nature. In the Northern regions today he is very much disturbed. Sometimes this ratio is only one predator to the five ungulates. For this reason, the population of moose in our country is quite old. After all, a strong healthy moose are able to cope with the master of the taiga, and the young – often no.
ideally, Razumkov�� planning to produce 10-15 percent of the total number of bears annually. That is, if today, for example, on Yamal, there are 800 bears, you should get 100-120. But in fact produced only 8-10.
Rosprirodnadzor recently warned that in the woods in July better not to go, because the bears are now mating season, and they can be particularly aggressive. Is it really so?
Leonid Baskin: Bears, however, are now coming to the “marriage path”. Scientists have in my own way called “the wedding” a bear, because they some time to slowly visit each other through the meadow before happens the pairing process. But to say that right now they are aggressive, you can’t. Bear in principle very dangerous to face. Especially when the bear wanders with her cubs. Chances then are almost there.
the Bear only attacks when it senses danger or it may purposefully hunt human.
Leonid Baskin: He’s a predator, and a very clever and dangerous. In North America, bears often attack tourists in tents at the time when they sleep. We have mushroom and berry fields. Every third case, when the animal lifts up man – it is the purpose to eat him.
By the way, is world statistics of attacks of bears on people: from 1991 to 2019 290 recorded attacks. Of course, the bear is very behaves differently in different regions of our country and the world. In the European part of Russia, the bear, of course, will not find near cities, and here in Siberia, please. For 40 years my personal observations, I have seen a bear in the forests of Kostroma region only four times. There they retained a natural fear, but in Kamchatka, for example, have already seen a few dozen animals at a time when they were out fishing.
This region is unique because salmon come in large number to spawn. Hence the extremely high number of bears, and the opportunity to see dozens daily Bruin. For example, on the Kuril lake. Hence a lot of conflicts with people. By the way, Kamchatka bears can reach gigantic proportions.
is it True that in these animals there are cases of cannibalism?
Leonid Baskin: Yes, and they are frequent. Males can eat their own cubs when very hungry. Females be aware, and beware of “daddy”, trying to protect them from the cubs.
a case of pairing the white and brown bears in the wild?
Leonid Baskin: Not many, but there. In particular, in Alaska, observed a few examples. In General, the world is not so many places where it would have intersected the habitats of these animals. In our country, it Taimyr, but so far data on the “weddings” brown and white from the inside.
And then, they are also very different in its “mentality”, although they have some, but very distant ancestors. They have courtship rituals are different, the habits of the brown and white of its own, and as they still came together really very surprising.
Once the aboriginal hunter in Ugra told prevalent in these parts of the legend: the bear, which killed the bear, life then will be looking for the offender. Gave an example of when the trailer shift workers bear came a year later to get revenge. Could this happen? Is it true that bears are so good memory?
Leonid Baskin: Memory they do good, but to confirm this prevailing folk legend from scientific point of view, still need evidence. That is, several of these confirmed cases, and only then it will be possible to analyze and draw conclusions.
what to do if you meet a bear on a narrow forest trail?
Leonid Baskin: first, to avoid walking in the forest, it is better to sing. And preferably louder. The bear is afraid of loud noises. Himself, rather, try to stay away from you.
But if met in any case not to run away from him, clumsy moves very quickly and you as the prey will overtake you instantly. Useless and a tree to climb. He climbs trees better than we do. You need to calmly talk to the bear, looking him straight in the eye, saying, bear, what are you doing, you need to go home, bear. And slowly back away, slowly walk away from him.
If he didn’t attack you, so target him this was not, and there is a chance that in this way you gradually go away. Sometimes on a tall stick wearing a hat, in the eyes of the bear to look taller, more powerful. Some hunters try to use the fact that the bear slepovat, he myopia. That is close, he has very poor vision. But all these tricks, I think, not much work. No wonder that among the large carnivores, the bear is the most intelligent, prudent and fearless animals.
