Bear trail at the door: why predators are increasingly appearing near homes

Residents of the neighboring Tula region of the Moscow region are increasingly faced with signs of the presence of wild animals near housing: since the beginning of the year, about 20 complaints about the traces of bears near settlements have been recorded. This is reported by TASS with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Ecology of the Moscow region.

Experts attribute the increase in the number of such cases to an increase in the population of bears in neighboring regions: animals are increasingly developing new territories, and their traces are increasingly appearing in forests near human settlements. At the same time, we are talking about traces of vital activity - prints on the soil and marks on trees. There are almost no real encounters with predators.

A curious nuance: not every “bear trail” turns out to be such in fact. Experts note that people often confuse the footprints of large dogs with bear ones, and scratches on tree trunks are taken for the work of a predator, although moose or even woodpeckers could leave them. Because of this, some alarm signals require additional verification.

According to ecologists, the total number of brown bears in the suburbs this year may be 70-80 individuals. This figure includes both permanent inhabitants of the region (there are about 30-40), and animals coming from neighboring areas. Most often, signs of the presence of bears are recorded in the western and northern districts of the Moscow region - it is there that the conditions are most favorable for their habitat.

At the same time, authorities and environmentalists emphasize that we are not talking about an invasion of predators. The situation is under control, and increased vigilance of residents helps to track the movements of animals in time and prevent possible conflicts.

Against the background of news about bears in the suburbs, environmentalists separately denied rumors about the appearance of wild wolves and bears in Moscow itself - according to experts, there are no such animals in the capital. Similar topics are now being discussed in other regions: for example, residents of the Leningrad region also reported on the release of bears to people, and in Primorye experts are counting such cases to assess the dynamics of the behavior of animals in the season of activity.