Exhibition “Bears in Jelgava Art School students’ collages and Estonian nature photographers' photos”

Remo Savisaar

A young bear stands behind a tree and wonders – should I run? I stood as frozen as a pillar of salt, so there was no need for the bear to flee. It eventually lost interest, and I could slowly back away.

Jõgeva County

Remo Savisaar

While one cub was wondering whether the crackling noise coming from the little mound was suspicious or not, the other cub scampered off. After all, mom always said – better safe than sorry!

Ida-Viru County, Alutaguse forest district

The bear population in Estonia and Latvia is mostly dark-brown in colour. In the first year of life, a cub has either a white patch on the front of its neck or a full ring – a natal collar – of lighter fur. As the cub grows up, the natal collar fades yet still stays lighter in shade than the rest of the bear’s fur.

Innar Hannus

A bear family relaxing

Tartu County

The bear population in Estonia and Latvia is mostly dark-brown in colour. In the first year of life, a cub have has either a white patch on the front of its neck or a full ring – a natal collar – of lighter fur. As the cub grows up, the natal collar fades yet still stays lighter in shade than the rest of the bear’s fur.

Sven Začek

A bear in a forest trail camera.

Tartu County, Tartu Parish

Bears are omnivores, foraging mainly by collecting food from the ground or digging it out of topsoil and dead undergrowth, stripping the bark from stumps and dead trees, and collecting shoots from herbaceous plants and woody plants. They eat berries, mushrooms, nuts, insects (especially ants), and the eggs and young of ground-nesting birds. They may also eat carrion. The wild bears in Latvia and Estonia have plenty of food reserves in nature. On rare occasions, they may attack livestock and poultry.

Sven Začek

The bear had probably been fighting – its snout was bloody.

Ida-Viru County, bear-watching hide.

Bears are territorial animals, solitary except when mating and when sows are rearing young. They mark their chosen area with urine, by stripping bark, and by rubbing their scent along the trunk of a tree. They also leave a scent in their tracks, which another bear can easily identify with its exceptional sense of smell. Although individual territories are marked, they often overlap. Sensitive to the presence of strange bears during the rut, males are relatively aggressive with each other. The size of the area occupied is determined by the availability of food and the density of the bear population.
 

Ingmar Muusikus

To hug a tree. A young bear had laid down for a late-morning nap in the marsh tea growing under pine saplings in the bog. Awakened and still sleepy, it wanted to see better what lay beyond. It rose up on its hind legs for a moment, as if looking for support against the trunk. That’s why the long claws of its forepaw are so clearly visible.

Järvamaa County, Järva Parish. Photographed without the use of a hide.

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Ingmar Muusikus

A bear’s paw. When your belly is full, you can sit back and rest (and clean) your paws. As there were quite a few individuals sleeping in the pines of the bog, I could see their different styles of sleeping/resting. Some lay on their backs, some on their stomachs; some stretched out their front legs, others – their hind legs. This young bear raised her hind paw for a moment, as if in greeting. There is something very human about the posture and behaviour of a snoozing bear. 

Järvamaa County, Järva Parish. Photographed without the use of a hide. 

In Europe, bears do not attack in non-self-defence situations because they perceive humans as a potential threat to be avoided. A mother bear usually scares people away with growls and short runs when defending her cubs, rather than attacking directly. It can be dangerous if a person is caught between a mother bear and her cubs. An injured bear can be extremely dangerous.

Remo Savisaar

Climbing down a tree. Near the Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve, I ran into two young bears. I got scared, they got scared – and they climbed up a tree. I backed off a bit and watched them for a while. There they were, both coming down the trunk at such speed that pieces of bark were flying through the air. It was a magnificent sight!

Instinct drives cubs and young bears to climb trees. Compared to an adult boar, which can weigh more than 300 kg, young bears are lighter and more agile, and a tree can be a safe haven in case of danger.

Remo Savisaar

A morning swim. One morning in June, I was lucky enough to see a bear in the very first forest area I had entered for a photo hunt! But I did not capture the encounter in a photograph. Two hours later, in a completely different area, I met the bear again! To see this magnificent animal with your own eyes and watch it in action 20 m away is an indescribable experience. Later, when the bear disappeared from sight, I wondered where it might go next. Knowing the area and having chased tracks for years, I had an idea where the animal would go. And sure enough... 10 minutes later, I found the bear again! The bear was taking its morning swim near the beaver dam. 

Tartu County, Peipsiääre Parish

Bears like water. They are good swimmers and enjoy bathing in water.
 

Alvin Tarkmees

Sensing danger or observing its surroundings, a bear quickly rises on its hind legs to get a better view of what's going on.

Ida-Viru County. Lüganuse Parish. Photographed from a hide in 2022.

Bears have rather good eyesight, but it is the least developed of all the senses. Bears can distinguish colours, which helps in foraging berries and fruit.
When a bear spots another animal or object that it cannot clearly discern, it rises on its hind legs. When you are out in nature and spot a bear, you should not hide but be directly visible to the bear and calmly move away, giving it the opportunity to understand that there is no immediate danger and that it is safe for it to leave the area. This posture – standing on its hind legs – does not necessarily mean that the bear will attack. Since it cannot see very well into the distance, it gets up on its hind legs to assess the situation.

However, bears do also rise to their hind legs during fights, just before an attack. 

Endel Pendin

Alarm bells ring – the young bear senses the approach of an older bear and immediately makes a quick exit.

Ida-Viru County. Alutaguse bear-watching hide.

Bears also have a well-developed sense of hearing, which helps them navigate their surroundings and avoid unwelcome encounters. 

Endel Pendin

I’d like to fly... The young bear could daydream undisturbed – until the older bear showed up.

Ida-Viru County. Alutaguse bear-watching hide.

Bears have an exceptional sense of smell, surpassing that of most of other mammals. A bear can smell a rotting carcass up to 3 km away. Its great sense of smell also helps to detect territory marked by another bear. Bears do not have whiskers. 

Remo Savisaar

Two young bears at the Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve. Taken at sunset (in backlight), without the use of a hide.

Bears do not have a distinct circadian rhythm. They become more active during the night due to human disturbance. In Latvia, bears have been observed at all times of the day.

Kalmer Lehepuu

I prepared a photo-trap and waited for a lynx or a wolf to cross the river, but a bear came instead. A bear also works for me, of course. It looked as if the bear did not appreciate getting wet.

Valga County

Sven Začek

Spring-time hunt of roe deer.

Valga County, Valga Parish

Because of its large body size, the bear has no natural enemies apart from other bears. The bear is a carnivore whose diet varies according to season and food availability. In spring in particular, ungulates such as roe deer and elk (especially young or emaciated animals), and rarely wild boar, can become bear prey. Bears will also hunt beavers. 

Ingmar Muusikus

The climbing tree. From time to time, in marshes, bogs or drained forests, you’ll spot pine trees bearing deep bear claw marks in the bark. These are usually a few favourite trees – mostly pines with strong strong tops – that bears climb year after year. Judging by the scratch-marks, it is not young bears playing but adults. The trail of scratches shows that the bear has climbed to the very top to find the young and still fresh sapwood under the tree bark. It seems that bears practise this sport in early spring, when there is not much to eat. Sapwood is rich in sugar and nutrients and was also used by Finno-Ugric peoples for food in times of famine.

Järvamaa County, village of Lõõla

The main indirect indications of a bear in the wild are its tracks, faeces, and claw scratches on tree trunks. These “messages” left behind are picked up by other bears by smell. Claw scratches on the trunks of trees, most often pines and especially apple trees in autumn, can also indicate that a bear has climbed the tree.

Ingmar Muusikus

A bear tracker’s felt boots next to the the tracks of a bear and a wolf. Searching for the first waking animal tracks in the last spring snow is a very exciting activity. Where did it come from and where did it go? How big of a trail has it left? And what else has gone the same way? Good old felt boots are the perfect footwear for tracking because they don’t make any noise even when walking on crunchy snow.

Järvamaa County, Järva Parish

The width and length of a bear's forepaw print are almost the same, and claw marks are clearly visible. The hind paw print is slightly similar in shape to that of a bare human foot, and claw marks are often not visible. 

The size of the forelegs can be used to determine the age group and approximate weight of the bear. The 18-cm footprint in the picture indicates that the animal is an adult and weighs around 300 kg. 

The footprints of a bear are very distinct and cannot be mistaken for those of other animals! Most often, the tracks of an adult badger are misidentified as those of a bear. This is why it is important to indicate the scale of the footprint when making photos. Measure the distance between the claws marks and the foot pad, as well as the length of the animal’s stride.

Kärt Miljaste

It's always exciting to see animal tracks on a muddy forest road. You can figure out what came this way and when. I looked at these tracks in bewilderment – they must have been left by a huge bear, as the the width of the footprint was about 18 cm.

Ida-Viru County, village of Piilse

The width and length of a bear's forepaw print are almost the same, and claw marks are clearly visible. The hind paw print is slightly similar in shape to that of a bare human foot, and claw marks are often not visible. 

The size of the forelegs can be used to determine the age group and approximate weight of the bear. The 18-cm footprint in the picture indicates that the animal is an adult and weighs around 300 kg. 

The footprints of a bear are very distinct and cannot be mistaken for those of other animals! Most often, the tracks of an adult badger are misidentified as those of a bear. This is why it is important to indicate the scale of the footprint when making photos. Measure the distance between the claws marks and the foot pad, as well as the length of the animal’s stride.

Ingmar Muusikus

At the beginning of November, I found some broken young spruce trees near the village of Koordi in Järva County. The work of a bear! Judging by the tracks, a big male. Broken trees mark a bear’s territory, and when this happens in November, it means that the bear has settled nearby for hibernation. Unfortunately, just a few days later, that area in the forest began to undergo logging and the bear was forced to abandon his plan.

Tarmo Mikussaar

The den of a three-year-old male bear.

Taken near the village of Vali, Järva County

Bears are not deep hibernators, but they usually spend the period from late November to March snoozing in a den. Females (sows) usually have two to three cubs every two or three years in January – February. Together with their mother, the cubs leave the den around April or May.

Bears hibernate in undisturbed areas of forest, coppices, overgrown clearings, marsh edges, or near a ditch. The den is created under fallen trees or branches. If a bear chooses a more open space for its den, it will dig a small pit and line its bottom with spruce branches and moss. These pit dens are usually more circular than, for example, a wild boar's den, which is elongated. The bear makes its own roof over the pit from broken fir trees and other nearby trees, which is then covered and insulated with a blanket of snow in winter. Broken and gnawed fir trees may indicate the proximity of a bear den.

A bear awakened by hunting or forest work is usually still able to establish a new den and continue its winter sleep.  

Kärt Miljaste

Just don’t step in it! Bears like berries – they know what is good.

Lääne-Viru County, the village of Palasi

The shape, colour and consistency of bear excrement piles can vary greatly depending on the food eaten. The bear's digestive system lacks the appendix of the caecum characteristic of herbivores, so plant food is not fully digested and plant food residue is often visible in the faeces.

Ingmar Muusikus

Droppings. We can have an idea of what the bear has been feeding on during springtime, simply by looking at its faeces. The presence of spruce needles and the black colour of the faeces indicate that the bear has visited an anthill; animal hair reveals that the bear has either found carrion or hunted an animal.

Järvamaa County, Järva Parish

Ants are a particularly important food in spring, when other sources are scarce. Low temperatures make ants sedentary and they concentrate in the upper part of the anthill, where they are easily accessible to bears.

Ingmar Muusikus

A treat inside a spruce hollow – bees! A few years ago I found a spruce tree inhabited by a swarm of bees. A bear had wanted to get at the bee brood – it tried to get in from all sides, made a hole in the bottom, and then tore the entrance wider. There were wood-chips everywhere, the tree was damaged, and there was a lingering smell of sweet honey in the air, yet the bear had not gotten to its desired dessert. The following year, however, that bear (or maybe another one) had finished the job. 

Järva County, Paide

Bears do like honey. When a bear senses the smell of a wild bee hive in, for instance, a tree hollow, it tries to reach it to feast on larvae, pollen, wax and honey. With the recovery of the bear population in Latvia, beekeeping is the sector being most affected by bear damage. The experience of Estonia, home to around 1000 bears, indicates that the problem will likely become more acute. Damage to beekeeping occurs mainly during night.

A Bear in the Latvian nature

How to behave?

In nature, national borders do not exist. We have ‘visitors’ from Estonia and Russia, as well as bears born in Latvia. As the bear population in Latvia recovers, it will become more likely to see a bear's footprints in nature. However, it will still be hard to meet the animal itself as they evade people - just as other wild animals do.

Nevertheless, if you come across the bear:

• do not go close, try to touch the animal or its cubs;
• don’t turn you back to it, instead slowly back-away;
• leave as soon as possible while keeping the animal in your eyesight. But don’t run;
• be quiet until the bruin goes in his own way.

A bear that is not used to human interaction will not come close but if the bear is used to foraging intentional (or unintentional) food leftovers, it is less fearful of humans and can thus become dangerous.

There are enough food sources for bears in the Latvian wilderness, so they are satiated and maintain healthy fat stores for the wintertime.

To avoid attracting a bear:

• do not feed it;
• do not leave leftover food in nature to prevent a bear from approaching human routes;
• do not create compost near the forests in the vicinity of residential areas.

Unfortunately, 'rescuing' healthy bear cubs or seemingly abandoned bears by feeding them or carrying them home can become lethal for the animals. When accustomed to human feed, they cannot survive independently in nature and can become a threat to the people themselves.

Proof of this is the fate of two young bear cubs in Latvia. Most likely tamed and later released into freedom, the animals became audacious. In August 2021, the bears had been spotted in the woods near Valka, and they even followed locals who were picking berries and mushrooms. In September, in the search for food in the vicinity of people, these same bears were found in courtyards and inside houses.

In order to help the locals, at first a deterrence plan* was implemented by using light and noise munitions. However, this did not produce the expected results: the young bears continued to be near people and developed the necessary survival skills for such circumstances and, subsequently, lowered their fear threshold.

In the hope that species-specific behaviour of bears would return after winter hibernation, in October, a separation method was applied next – the animals were captured, separated from each other and moved away from populated areas to places deep in the forest. In the process, DNA samples were taken from both bears and identification numbers-i.e. an ear tags- were attached to their ears. After DNA research, one of the young is known to be male and the other – female.

In April 2022, according to the ear-tag, the male bear was regularly observed on the roadside in the county of Gulbene. Because of that, in a short period of time the bear became an easy-to-access entertainment, and, unfortunately, some people seized the opportunity to see the bear by driving to the site and purposefully feeding it, including candy and chips.

Unfortunately, to prevent the dangers that could be caused by a bear that is not afraid of humans, anthropogenic noises and is habituated to feeding, the animal had to be put down.

After euthanasiation, the vets performed a section that revealed that the bear suffered from a stomach ulcer and had an inflamed intestinal tract. Such diseases expose animals to long-suffering and a slow death. By dissecting its stomach content, it was evident that lately the bear’s diet had consisted of products unsuitable for any animal – including cigarette butts. Unfortunately, there was also a plastic bag that had been stuck in the intestines.

The placement of bears in captivity in the nature trails of Ligatne or the National Zoo of Riga was not possible because there are no free enclosures for the reception of new bears in any of the institutions mentioned. Bears are very territorial, thus, they cannot be placed in a shared enclosure. Such an allocation would end tragically for either of animals. Based on a detailed calculation, the construction of another enclosure (including all safety and welfare requirements) would cost approximately 0.5 million euros, with additional costs of fostering the bear— the feed, veterinary expenses, tending to the animal, etc. — for over 30 years.

No information has been received about the second bear. It may have migrated across the border, where it might have succeeded in acquiring skills for survival in the wild.

The euthanized bear is now a part of the Latvian National Museum of Natural History Zoological Collection.

If an audacious bear with an atypical behaviour is encountered in nature, we call for reporting to info@daba.gov.lv.

*The work was coordinated by the Nature Conservation Agency (DAP) in autumn of 2021 and spring 2022, in cooperation with leading scientists, hunting specialists and representatives of the non-governmental sector, as well as by identifying the experiences of Estonia, Germany, Canada and other countries.

Source: Nature Conservation Agency

Bear FAQs

Answers Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”.

1. How many bears are there in Latvia? Following the 2021 monitoring data, there are currently around 60-70 bears in the Latvian wild.
2. When will the bears be in Kurzeme? Although the bears are mostly staying within in Vidzeme, Latgale and now in Selia, there are no significant natural or man-made barriers that would prevent them from migrating forward and inhabiting Kurzeme too. With a growing population, it's only a matter of time when bears will seek new areas. There were three reports of bear sightings in Kurzeme in 2021.
3. Is it true that bears are not wintering in Latvia? We have found bear’s den in Latvia and there have even been cases where a bear has been disturbed during logging and hunting in winter, and thus it has quickly abandoned its den - so this statement is false. The first verified report of a bear's den in Latvia was dated in 2005.
4. Are the bears breeding in Latvia? Yes, they are breeding in Latvia! One of the greatest achievements of 2021 monitoring with trail cameras was a video footage of a female bear with four juveniles born in the same year in May, which points to the fact that these bears were born in Latvia. It was possible to follow the life of this family until the late autumn as they lived in ‘Riga Forests’ Ltd., Catherine's forestry forests in Viļķene parish.

Nature photography has always been an enticing way to spend one’s spare time. As the technologies, knowledge and skills develop, nature photography has become more and more accessible to the general public.

Are you passionate about nature photography?

Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava” recommends:

We call on all natural photographers-amateurs to adhere to the code of conduct to avoid risks posed by this hobby to photographers and wildlife:

1. When you are getting closer to the animal to get the best photo – you threaten yourself!
2. When feeding animals for photography purposes, you:

• threaten yourself;
• threaten other people with whom the animals may subsequently come into contact;
• threaten the animal itself, because you damage his future survival by changing his natural habits!

Brown bear research and conservation in Latvia

On EU-scale, the brown bear is an endangered species, whose conservation in Latvia is dictated by the EU Directive 92/42/EEK on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora Appendix IV. In Latvia, the brown bear is included in the protected species red-list.

Brown bear species conservation plan, first developed and approved by the order from the minister of Environment in 2003, includes all the international and national regulations on the specific conservation requirements.

The aim of this plan is to promote the preservation of a favorable status of the brown bears’ Baltic population in the territory of Latvia, without setting a deadline, the minimum or maximum number of animals, and, at the same time, ensure the renewal of their range through natural spread and allow the presence of the species as a functional component in a natural landscape inhabited by people, while respecting and promoting the quality of life and well-being of the society.

Since 2015, the Latvian State Institute of Forestry "Silava" (LSFRI Silava) has been providing bear monitoring to obtain information about the state of the brown bear population and its habitat needs in Latvia.

Monitoring is done:

• in the months of spring, purposefully searching for evidence of the presence of bears in seven NATURA 2000 sites and their adjacent territories, as well as in three places outside the NATURA 2000 territories, where the presence of bears has been observed in the last three years;
• ensuring the collection and research of samples containing DNA by:
• placing bear fur traps;
• checking the activity of bears in apple orchards near uninhabited rural homesteads;
• checking the damage caused by bears in beehives;
• collecting incidental information about sightings of bears or their footprints as well as damages caused by bears.

You can also help in bear monitoring!

How to do a bear’s footprint’s photo fixation in such a way that the image is scientifically significant?

Even though the footprint of hind leg looks more impressive, foreleg’s footprint is the one that carries more significant information.
The width of a foreleg’s footprint is related to the animal’s body mass; for adult bears it can be over 13,5 cm. The width of a cub’s footprint is 6-9 cm, for a youngster (1-2 y.o.) – 9,5-11,5cm and for bears that are older than two years – more than 12 cm. The biggest footprint ever found in Latvia is 17cm – i.e. it was made by an adult bear weighing approximately 300kg.

Hence, if you have found the footprints of a bear:

• measure the width of the forepaw at the widest place of the footprint. If you don’t have a measuring tape, then you can use a branch that’s torn at the appropriate length or a different object that can be easily measured at home;
• take a photo of the footprint together with the object, that is used for scale;
• note down the coordinates of the footprint’s location. You can easily use a special app in which you can add the coordinates to you photo;
• send the information to lacumonitorings@gmail.com.

Maps

1. Casual brown bear sightings in 2021 (grey - adult bear, yellow - female bear with cubs, grey area - specially protected nature territories). Source - LSFRI Silava.
2. Genetically distinguished brown bears (individuals that were registered repeatedly; individuals that were registered only once (black rhombus), grey area - specially protected nature territories). Source - LSFRI Silava.

Photos

1. A bear’s devastation. Photo – A. Stepanova, LSFRI Silava.
2. In order to not lose the information about a footprint you have stumbled upon, you can use a twig as a measurement unit, in case you don’t have a measuring tape with you. Photo – A. Stepanova, LSFRI Silava.
3. Correctly executed measurement. The footprint of a bear’s foreleg (the width of 16 cm). Photo – D. Pilāte, LSFRI Silava.
4. Bear’s claw’s scratches on an apple tree. Photo – A. Stepanova, LSFRI Silava.
5. Sometimes, when doing observations in apple orchards for a DNA analysis, one must climb up high in the trees in order to collect bear’s hair strands that have gotten stuck in the bark. Photo – G. Bagrade, LSFRI Silava.
6. Hair sample from a bear’s trap. Photo – J. Ozoliņš, LSFRI Silava.
7. A sample collected from excrements. Photo – G. Bagrade, LSFRI Silava.

The trail cameras are set-up in order to monitor the bears and research their behavior. They are usually placed in areas where there are fur traps that attract the animals by a special liquid that is smeared on the nearby stumps and branches.

Bear’s hair LSFRI Silava uses for DNA differentiation, which helps to research the development of bear’s population in Latvia.

You can see the trail camera footage from years 2021 and 2022 in the screens – the bear behavior at different times of the day in spring and summer at ‘Riga Forests’ Ltd., Katrīna forestry forests in Viļķene parish.

Especially important footage is from May 2021 with a female bear with four juveniles born in the same year. (For more information, see the section “Bear FAQs”).

The length of the footage is 4 minutes 15 seconds.

Brown bear Ursus arctos
Left forepaw print in mud.
The width of 14.5 cm corresponds to an adult bear weighing 160 kg.

The author of the original casting is Ginta Kalniņa in Viļķenes parish, ‘Riga Forests’ Ltd., areas.
Copy made by SIA "Low Tech".

The skull of the brown bear Ursus arctos put to sleep in 2022. The teenage bear was put to sleep because it was not afraid of people and household noises, creating a threat to society. The uncharacteristic behavior of the bear was a consequence of people's irresponsibility with feeding it.

The zoological collection of the Latvian National Museum of Natural History