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bear-friendly communities

A Bear-Friendly Community is a community that decides to implement all good practices that allow for peaceful coexistence with bears. With a few simple precautions, your municipality can become bear-proof.

Save the Bear’s Bear-friendly Communities pilot project encourages actions by communities, businesses and individuals to prevent human-bear conflict by removing any possible source of food attraction for bears in urban areas and promoting simple but effective measures to prevent bear and bear damage. Our dream is for all areas affected by the presence of the plantigrade to decide to become bear-friendly. Help us achieve this goal! Save the Bear is committed to helping all communities and individuals who wish to become bear-friendly.

Download the best practice manual

our bear-friendly communities

Genzana

Here, in 2015, the Bear-sized Communities pilot project began, and is still in the execution phase. In September 2014, a young male Marsican brown bear was shot dead in the municipality of Pettorano sul Gizio after some residents reported damage to beehives, chicken coops, and vegetable gardens. This very serious event made us realize the urgency of starting to implement concrete actions for coexistence. Situated between the mountains of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park and the Maiella National Park, the municipalities of Pettorano sul Gizio and Rocca Pia are at the center of a privileged connection corridor for Marsican bears’ movements between the two major protected areas.

20 Fences installed
20 dogs vaccinated and/or microchipped
6 days of pruning and/or cleaning
45 at-risk properties surveyed

Roveto Valley-Ernici

The Roveto Valley-Ernici area is considered for all intents and purposes the new bear frontier. In fact, it is estimated that the area could accommodate up to 22 reproductive females. Recent years have shown all the determination that bears have in achieving this goal; in fact, several individuals have been reported, including females with cubs in tow. For this reason, since 2018, Save the Bear has begun its work with various communities in the area in order to identify and limit the causes of conflict and encourage the expansion of bears in this important area.

17 Fences installed
75 dogs vaccinated and/or microchipped
95 at-risk properties surveyed

Upper Molise

The presence of bears in Upper Molise is nothing new. However, in the 2018-2019 biennium it became more evident, giving hope that this wildlife corridor between Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park and Majella National Park may be increasingly frequented by bears. With its extensive forests and soft slopes, Upper Molise represents a suitable area for bear recolonization. Therefore, since 2018, Save the Bear has started to collaborate with several local communities.

30 Fences installed
45 at-risk properties surveyed

areas of intervention in communities

Use of electrified fences

To protect chicken coops, stables, beehives and orchards. Contact Save the Bear if you need a fence!

Management of organic waste

Don’t leave organic waste unattended: put out your organic waste on collection day, if that is not possible contact Save the Bear for a bear-proof dumpster.

Fruit picking and tree planting

Pick fruit before it is too ripe, or consider planting a new tree if you don’t eat it
Contact Save the Bear if you need a hand!

Pet vaccination

Vaccinate your pets for all diseases communicable to wild animals.

Information and outreach to populations

Inform yourself! Knowledge is the basis of coexistence: contact Save the Bear if you would like to organize a meeting to talk about bears and coexistence in your municipality.

Save the Bear
Association for the Conservation of the Marsican Brown Bear ONLUS
Olive Park Street, 11
65015 Montesilvano (PE)
Italy

VAT NUMBER: 02189990688
CF: 91117950682
MAIL: info@salviamolorso.it
PEC: ass.salviamolorso@pec.it

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