A brown bear was sighted in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district last weekend. In the area south of federal highway 307, which runs past the Sylvenstein reservoir, the bear fell into a photo trap. A wildlife camera photographed the bear, the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (LfU) reported on Tuesday. Authorities, interest groups and representatives of livestock farmers have been informed.
Recently, a brown bear was sighted in the Free State in the neighboring district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the end of April or beginning of May. According to the LfU, it is unclear whether it is the same animal that has now been confirmed in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. Austrian authorities have also reported sightings of a bear near Langkampfen in the Tyrolean district of Kufstein last weekend, according to the LfU. According to the agency, the closest bear population is in Trentino, Italy, about 120 kilometers from Bavaria. “A bear population spreads very slowly,” the statement said. “It is not assumed that bears will settle permanently in Bavaria.”
According to the LfU, young male brown bears sometimes roam “very far” in search of a mate. They could be on the road for several months or a few years. “If they don’t find a partner, they return to their home country.”