Brown bear in Austria for the second time was declared extinct

The International Fund for Nature Protection (WWF) in Austria has confirmed the extinction of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the country after nearly two years of not seeing the last brown bear named Moritz. This is also the second time in history that brown bears have been declared extinct in Austria.

Since 1989, WWF has implemented a brown bear conservation project in Austria through a program to release bears in the northern area of ​​the Alps, however the number of these animals is increasingly severely reduced before absent.

Statistics from 1989 to 2010 showed that at least 35 bears live in this area but later more than 20 bears suddenly disappeared without leaving a trace.

Brown bear

According to WWF Austria, the number of bears migrating to the Northern Alps area depends very much on the hunting frequency of the Slovenian people. Over the past decade, hunting quotas have been significantly increased due to many conflicts between bears and beekeepers or cattle grazing households.

Dalibor Dostal, director of the European Wildlife Conservation Organization, said: 'We believe this is not the end of the whole story of brown bears in Austria's Alps, but just the end. sad of a small chapter. We also hope the next chapters will be more positive and bright, and that bears will appear again in this area. '

Currently WWF in Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France are planning to develop a brown bear conservation strategy, which is expected to be released in March.