Brown bear attacks on humans: a worldwide perspective

Brown bear attacks on humans: a worldwide perspective. Bombieri, G., Naves, J., Penteriani, V., Selva, N., Fernández-Gil, A., López-Bao, J. V., Ambarli, H., Bautista, C., Bespalova, T., Bobrov, V., Bolshakov, V., Bondarchuk, S., Camarra, J. J., Chiriac, S., Ciucci, P., Dutsov, A., Dykyy, I., Fedriani, J. M., García-Rodríguez, A., Garrote, P. J., Gashev, S., Groff, C., Gutleb, B., Haring, M., Härkönen, S., Huber, D., Kaboli, M., Kalinkin, Y., Karamanlidis, A. A., Karpin, V., Kastrikin, V., Khlyap, L., Khoetsky, P., Kojola, I., Kozlow, Y., Korolev, A., Korytin, N., Kozsheechkin, V., Krofel, M., Kurhinen, J., Kuznetsova, I., Larin, E., Levykh, A., Mamontov, V., Männil, P., Melovski, D., Mertzanis, Y., Meydus, A., Mohammadi, A., Norberg, H., Palazón, S., Pătrașcu, L. M., Pavlova, K., Pedrini, P., Quenette, P. Y., Revilla, E., Rigg, R., Rozhkov, Y., Russo, L. F., Rykov, A., Saburova, L., Sahlén, V., Saveljev, A. P., Seryodkin, I. V., Shelekhov, A., Shishikin, A., Shkvyria, M., Sidorovich, V., Sopin, V., Støen, O., Stofik, J., Swenson, J. E., Tirski, D., Vasin, A., Wabakken, P., Yarushina, L., Zwijacz-Kozica, T., & Delgado, M. M. Scientific Reports, 9(1):1–10, June, 2019. Number: 1 Publisher: Nature Publishing Group

Paper doi abstract bibtex

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.

@article{bombieri_brown_2019,
	title = {Brown bear attacks on humans: a worldwide perspective},
	volume = {9},
	copyright = {2019 The Author(s)},
	issn = {2045-2322},
	shorttitle = {Brown bear attacks on humans},
	url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44341-w},
	doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-44341-w},
	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.},
	language = {en},
	number = {1},
	urldate = {2020-03-20},
	journal = {Scientific Reports},
	author = {Bombieri, G. and Naves, J. and Penteriani, V. and Selva, N. and Fernández-Gil, A. and López-Bao, J. V. and Ambarli, H. and Bautista, C. and Bespalova, T. and Bobrov, V. and Bolshakov, V. and Bondarchuk, S. and Camarra, J. J. and Chiriac, S. and Ciucci, P. and Dutsov, A. and Dykyy, I. and Fedriani, J. M. and García-Rodríguez, A. and Garrote, P. J. and Gashev, S. and Groff, C. and Gutleb, B. and Haring, M. and Härkönen, S. and Huber, D. and Kaboli, M. and Kalinkin, Y. and Karamanlidis, A. A. and Karpin, V. and Kastrikin, V. and Khlyap, L. and Khoetsky, P. and Kojola, I. and Kozlow, Y. and Korolev, A. and Korytin, N. and Kozsheechkin, V. and Krofel, M. and Kurhinen, J. and Kuznetsova, I. and Larin, E. and Levykh, A. and Mamontov, V. and Männil, P. and Melovski, D. and Mertzanis, Y. and Meydus, A. and Mohammadi, A. and Norberg, H. and Palazón, S. and Pătrașcu, L. M. and Pavlova, K. and Pedrini, P. and Quenette, P. Y. and Revilla, E. and Rigg, R. and Rozhkov, Y. and Russo, L. F. and Rykov, A. and Saburova, L. and Sahlén, V. and Saveljev, A. P. and Seryodkin, I. V. and Shelekhov, A. and Shishikin, A. and Shkvyria, M. and Sidorovich, V. and Sopin, V. and Støen, O. and Stofik, J. and Swenson, J. E. and Tirski, D. and Vasin, A. and Wabakken, P. and Yarushina, L. and Zwijacz-Kozica, T. and Delgado, M. M.},
	month = jun,
	year = {2019},
	note = {Number: 1
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group},
	pages = {1--10},
}

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