Traces of bears are increasingly found near suburban settlements

In the forests of the Moscow region in recent years began to notice more traces of bears near settlements. This was reported by TASS in the press service of the Ministry of Ecology of the Moscow region.

Since the beginning of 2026, residents of the region have applied to the department about 20 times because of possible traces of these animals. Most often, people find footprints on the ground and marks on trees. Sometimes young bears are spotted near the roads.

However, not all such reports are confirmed. According to the ministry, people often confuse bear tracks with the footprints of large dogs, and scratches on trees can leave moose and even woodpeckers.

The Ministry of Ecology connects the frequent cases of detection of traces with the growth of the number of bears in neighboring regions. In particular, they became more in the Tver, Yaroslavl and Smolensk regions. Therefore, most often bears are noticed in the western and northern parts of the Moscow region.

According to the Agency, in 2026 in the Moscow region can live from 70 to 80 brown bears. Approximately 30-40 of them make up the local population, the rest come from neighboring regions.