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. 2019 Jun 12;9(1):8573.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44341-w.

Brown bear attacks on humans: a worldwide perspective

G Bombieri  1   2 , J Naves  3 , V Penteriani  4   5 , N Selva  6 , A Fernández-Gil  3 , J V López-Bao  4 , H Ambarli  7 , C Bautista  6 , T Bespalova  8 , V Bobrov  9 , V Bolshakov  10 , S Bondarchuk  11 , J J Camarra  12 , S Chiriac  13 , P Ciucci  14 , A Dutsov  15 , I Dykyy  16 , J M Fedriani  17 , A García-Rodríguez  6 , P J Garrote  17 , S Gashev  18 , C Groff  19 , B Gutleb  20 , M Haring  21 , S Härkönen  22 , D Huber  23 , M Kaboli  24 , Y Kalinkin  25 , A A Karamanlidis  26 , V Karpin  27 , V Kastrikin  28 , L Khlyap  9 , P Khoetsky  29 , I Kojola  30 , Y Kozlow  31 , A Korolev  32 , N Korytin  10 , V Kozsheechkin  33 , M Krofel  34 , J Kurhinen  27   35 , I Kuznetsova  10 , E Larin  8 , A Levykh  18 , V Mamontov  36 , P Männil  37 , D Melovski  38   39 , Y Mertzanis  40 , A Meydus  41 , A Mohammadi  42 , H Norberg  22 , S Palazón  43 , L M Pătrașcu  44 , K Pavlova  45 , P Pedrini  46 , P Y Quenette  12 , E Revilla  3 , R Rigg  21 , Y Rozhkov  47 , L F Russo  4 , A Rykov  48 , L Saburova  36 , V Sahlén  49 , A P Saveljev  31 , I V Seryodkin  50   51 , A Shelekhov  52 , A Shishikin  53 , M Shkvyria  54 , V Sidorovich  55 , V Sopin  41 , O Støen  56   57 , J Stofik  58 , J E Swenson  56   57 , D Tirski  45 , A Vasin  59 , P Wabakken  60 , L Yarushina  8 , T Zwijacz-Kozica  61 , M M Delgado  4
Affiliations

Brown bear attacks on humans: a worldwide perspective

G Bombieri et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The increasing trend of large carnivore attacks on humans not only raises human safety concerns but may also undermine large carnivore conservation efforts. Although rare, attacks by brown bears Ursus arctos are also on the rise and, although several studies have addressed this issue at local scales, information is lacking on a worldwide scale. Here, we investigated brown bear attacks (n = 664) on humans between 2000 and 2015 across most of the range inhabited by the species: North America (n = 183), Europe (n = 291), and East (n = 190). When the attacks occurred, half of the people were engaged in leisure activities and the main scenario was an encounter with a female with cubs. Attacks have increased significantly over time and were more frequent at high bear and low human population densities. There was no significant difference in the number of attacks between continents or between countries with different hunting practices. Understanding global patterns of bear attacks can help reduce dangerous encounters and, consequently, is crucial for informing wildlife managers and the public about appropriate measures to reduce this kind of conflicts in bear country.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spatial distribution of brown bear attacks on humans recorded between 2000 and 2015. Only attacks for which at least approximate coordinates were available are shown in the map (95% of all the attacks recorded, n = 634). In some cases, one point corresponds to more than one attack. The map was created in QGIS software, using the world borders layer and the IUCN layer of brown bear distribution, including both permanent and occasional presence.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Temporal trends of reported brown bear attacks on humans throughout the species’ range during 2000–2015, n = 664.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Main activities carried out by people at the moment of an attack (n = 560). (b) Main scenarios of the attacks (n = 289).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Nearly half (47%) of the attacks recorded worldwide were the result of a defensive reaction of a female with cubs. Photo by Ivan Seryodkin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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