oa Conservation status and distribution of the brown bear in Europe

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Conservation status and distribution of the brown bear in Europe, Page 1 of 1

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Despite millennia of persecution, brown bears have made a remarkable comeback in Europe due to a shift in the management paradigm towards more conservation-oriented management in the 20th century. Today, the brown bear occurs in 22 countries in Europe, and the overall population size is estimated at approximately 17,000-18,000 individuals (not including Russia). Brown bears can be clustered into ten populations in Europe: Scandinavian, Karelian, Baltic, Carpathian, Dinaric-Pindos, Eastern Balkan, Alpine, Central Apennine, Cantabrian, and Pyrenean. Several of these populations are large and are sustainably managed, also by hunting (e.g. in Scandinavia and in the Carpathian mountain range). In these populations it is important to ensure that hunting quotas are kept within the limits of sustainability. However, several brown bear populations in Europe are still small and isolated, and special attention must be paid to their long-term viability in terms of the number of reproducing individuals and population genetics (e.g. the Central Apennine, Cantabrian, and Pyrenean populations). Effective mitigation measures to keep depredation rates low are crucial for conservation in Europe, as is public education and awareness of brown bears. Coexistence of humans and brown bears is fully possible, even in the human-dominated landscapes of Europe.