Is it safe to walk in nature, in light of the tragic incident in which a young man lost his life on Vitosha and according to forensic experts, it was most likely an attack by a bear and her cub.
According to official data, about 18-20 brown bears inhabit Vitosha, Plana and Verila. How to avoid meeting them and what to expect from the monitoring that the institutions organized after the tragic death in the mountain. The following is a conversation with Dr. Nikola Doykin, an expert on “fauna“ in the Nature Park “Vitosha“, Vladimir Todorov, a bear expert at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and founder of the platform “Bears Stories“ and via Viber we will include Alexander Dutsov, a senior expert in “Species Conservation“ at WWF.
How to avoid meeting a bear?
According to experts, prevention is the most important thing. Dr. Nikola Doykin emphasized that people should avoid close encounters with wild animals and be noisier during hikes: “First - avoiding meeting any wild animals. If such an encounter occurs, we should keep the animals away from us, or be noisier in the mountains.“
He also drew attention to the problem of waste:
„Owners and users of various sites in the mountains must maintain cleanliness around the sites they manage. There should be no garbage around. Even various food packages smell like something edible to the animals. This way they are attracted and shorten the distance.“
„Problem bear“, not „bait“
According to Vladimir Todorov, the term „bait“ is already outdated: „The word ‘problem bear’ is now used. It was once believed that a bear, if it ate meat, would become prey. All bears eat meat – they are predators.“
He explained that a bear does not have to be “problematic“ to attack a person: “A bear, in order to attack a person, has to be in a tight situation – to be startled, frightened, injured or in a state in which, according to her ideas, she cannot escape.“
According to world research, the critical distance is about 20 meters: “If we meet a bear less than 20 meters away, it could attack.“
Tourists often underestimate the risk
Alexander Dutsov pointed out that after the tragedy there is serious tension on social networks, especially among families with children: “Many people are worried. Worry is most often noticed among people who have children and families.“ However, he assured that there is no data on cases in which a bear has attacked a group of people:
“So far, we have no information about a case of a bear participating in a tragic incident with more than one person.“ According to him, large groups and families with children are more protected because they are noisy, and bears avoid human presence.
Dutsov also warned of a serious problem: “There are still people who go out alone, run in the mountains and wear headphones. This is very worrying.“
He explained that the animal often gives warning signals: “It first makes some sound or warns you. When you have headphones, you can't even react.“