STA, 8 July 2021 - Slovenian authorities dealt with more incidents of damage caused by bears and fewer by wolves in January-June compared to the same six-month period last year, while the total damage is lower. A total of 128 bears were culled in this period, a significant rise from a total of 99 culled in the entire 2020.
In the first six months of 2021, authorities dealt with 120 cases of damage caused by brown bears and 80 cases of damage caused by wolves. Data the STA obtained from the Slovenian Forest Service shows the total damage is estimated at just under EUR 90,000.
In the first six months of last year, there were 86 such events linked to bears and 143 to wolves, with the total damage estimated at EUR 112,000.
Both last year and this year, the most damage was caused in the region of Bela Krajina, south-east, and in the area around Kočevje, south.
128 bears have been culled this year, of which 112 were shot under a permit issued by the Slovenian Environment Agency, seven were shot under individual culling permits, and the rest died in railway or road accidents.
Only four wolves have been culled so far this year - two were shot under individual permits, one was killed on the road, and one is suspected to have been poached. Last year, a total of 99 brown bears and 14 wolves or wolf-dog hybrids were culled, according to the Forest Service data.
The Forest service estimates that more than 1,000 bears live in Slovenia. The number of wolves has been estimated at 113 for the 2019/20 season, and the estimate for the 2020/21 season will be known in the autumn.
