Skip to main content
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

  • General contact

    Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology
    Savoyenstraße 1, A-1160 Wien
    Tel:   +43 (1) 25077-7900
    Fax:  +43 (1) 25077-7941

    Email FIWI

    Getting here

     

    Office hours of the Institute

    Reception: Mo - Fr, 9 am -12 am and 1 pm -4 pm  T: +43 (1) 25077-7102

    Library: Renate Hengsberger +43 (1) 25077-7343

    Acceptance of carrion: Mo - Fr: 8 am - 4 pm, Contact: Dr. Anna Kübber-Heiss T: +43 (1) 25077-7160

Life DinAlp Bear - Population level management and conservation of brown bears in northern Dinaric Mountains and the Alps

Photo of a standing brown bear

Brownbears are omnivores who primarily consume plant-based foods. Unlike wolves or lynx they are not specialized hunters of mammals, but possess great strength and so can pose a danger to pasture animals. (Photo P. Kaczensky)

Photo of a brown bear in the forest

1/2

Although bear populations have recovered in many areas of Europe, the bears rarely disperse from Slovenia to Austria and Italy.

Photo of bee hives protected by an electric fence

2/2

Electric fences around bee hives offer effective protection against bears. (Photo F. Knauer)

In the politically fragmented landscape of Europe, one of the most important goals in conservation and management of brown bears (Ursus arctos)  is transboundary, population level coordination. Unfortunately, this goal is often very difficult to achieve. We are trying to overcome this obstacle in Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Italy through a large Life+ project mainly funded by the European Commission (69%) and targeting the brown bear population in Northern Dinaric Mts. and south-eastern Alps. The project Life DinAlp Bear started on the 1st of July 2014 and will last until the 30th of June 2019.

Conflicts between humans and brown bear populations in Europe remain an ongoing threat to the conservation status of bears and steps must be taken to improve coexistence. Measures need to tackle such challenges as a lack of understanding of bears’ socio-economic and environmental value or high traffic-related mortality, associated with the increasing fragmentation of its habitat as a result of growing traffic infrastructure and urbanisation.

The Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology (FIWI) is one of the project´s 9 regional partners.  Together with partners in other countries we aim to advance scientific understanding of the slow spread of the Slovenian bear population.  Our task is to improve bear monitoring and acceptance of the presence of bears in the Austrian project sites.  We also collaborate with our partners to further enhance trans-boundary coordination and  harmonisation of bear conservation and management in participating countries.

The project consortium is led by the Slovenia Forest Service.  

 

More information at the official project website

 

DINALP-BEAR-HEADER-LOGO
To the Top