In a bear sanctuary in the central Carpathians of Romania, several cubs believed to be orphans have recently arrived.
There are fears that many will need shelter as the country has authorized the hunting of these protected animals, effectively overturning a ban that has been in place since 2016.
Florin Ticusan and his team care for 128 brown bears at the Liberty Bear Sanctuary, which claims to be the largest sanctuary in the world. The center is located in Zarnesti, 180km (111 miles) north of the capital, Bucharest.
Bears are legally protected in Romania. The government estimates there are 8,000, the largest number in Europe outside of Russia.
There were 220 hunts last year and 140 the year before, but in those cases, the permits came with stricter restrictions.
The European Union allows 481 animals to be killed this year. The government says the number of bears is too high and attacks are on the rise.
Animal welfare and environmental activists say that conflicts between humans and bears are caused by human behavior but there is no political will to deal with this issue.
Bears are being driven out of the forest, their natural habitat, due to deforestation and lack of food, says sanctuary founder Cristina Lapis.
Romania is a major exporter of wild berries and mushrooms that are often eaten by animals.
The refuge, which welcomes 30,000 visitors a year, also takes in bears rescued from zoos in neighboring Ukraine, Albania, Armenia and even the United States.
The center aims to educate its visitors about bears’ needs and environmental behavior.
“Bears have changed their behavior in the last few years and street begging has become their source of food,” Environment Minister Mircea Fechet said recently.
Fechet said the bears pose an “imminent danger to tourists” who approach them and suggested they should be moved to places like Liberty.
The sanctuary believes there are other solutions to control the bear population, such as placing trash cans out of reach, installing electric fences where needed and educating people on how to live with the animals.
Although it is too early to gauge the impact the resumption of hunting will have, Lapis is concerned that it will lead to more orphaned bears being brought to her center, which is already struggling to find the money to feed all its residents.
He said the sanctuary will not put the bears that have been returned to the forest because the recent law to kill them means that they risk becoming “cannon fodder”.
Ioan Banucu, the head of a company that organizes “hunting and shooting holidays in the Romanian wilderness”, said that he had organized a trip for foreign hunters.
Five bears have been shot and killed since October, he said. “But some customers are holding back,” he admitted without elaborating, adding that interest in other animals, such as wild boars, was great.
Bear hunting is not cheap. It costs up to 8,000 euros ($8,500) per bear, depending on the size.
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