Animals
Bear walks into wildlife camera at German-Austrian border
A wildlife camera captures a brown bear wandering through the German-Austrian border area at night. Photo
© Reviermanagement/dpa
A young bear was caught in a camera trap. The bear is staying close to the border. However, an expert sees no reason for concern.
A brown bear spotted in the German-Austrian border area could move on to Germany, according to an expert. That’s what Hubert Schatz, the state wildlife ecologist of the Austrian state, said Vorarlberg, the German Press Agency.
A few kilometers from the Allgäu, a wildlife camera clearly identified the animal in the municipality of Lech am Arlberg. According to Schatz’s forensics, it was “most likely a younger, male bear that probably came from Trento via the Lechtal to Vorarlberg,” said the Vorarlberg state press office.
Bears have already moved along the Lechtal to Bavaria in the past, said Schatz. “It’s quite possible that it will continue to migrate,” he said of the animal that has now been spotted. The expert also pointed out that no bear had been detected in Vorarlberg since 2006. At that time it was the so-called “problem bear Bruno”, who came from Italy via Vorarlberg and Tyrol to Bavaria.
Authorities recommend being vigilant
It is not yet possible to say whether the animal photographed in Lech shows behavioral problems, “However, there is no reason to panic,” said Schatz. He doesn’t expect the bear to cause any major problems. However, the authorities in the Lech area recommend being particularly careful and not leaving the marked paths and keeping dogs on a leash.
Only a year ago, a bear left traces in the Upper Bavarian districts of Rosenheim and Miesbach; it is said to have previously been traveling in Tyrol and was photographed by a wildlife camera in Brandenberg in the Kufstein district. Bear tracks were also discovered in the snow near Stanzach in the Reutte district of Tyrol.
The nearest bear population is in the Italian Trentino, about 120 kilometers from Bavaria, with about 100 animals. WWF Austria estimates the bear population in Carinthia and East Tyrol to be five to eight bears.