Even if he was seen in person on Bavarian soil at most once - if at all - one thing is certain: somewhere in southern Upper Bavaria a bear is groping around. A search for clues.
Bad Tölz (dpa / lby) - New sign of life from a bear in Upper Bavaria: In the Bad-Tölz-Wolfratshausen district, paw prints were discovered, as announced by the State Office for the Environment. Experts clearly assigned the tracks to a bear.
On July 29, the LfU from the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district reported a bear track. The place was searched by an expert for traces and genetically usable material. Three more footprints were found, but no genetically usable material such as feces or hair.
The bear track was discovered not far from the spot where a bear had walked into a camera trap about ten days earlier. "The LfU takes every tip about large carnivores seriously and investigates it," said a spokesman.
According to "Münchner Merkur", a woman claims to have seen the bear in person near the Lautersee near Mittenwald in July. The site of the sighting was searched for traces. Since no trace was found, it was an unconfirmed tip.
It is unclear whether the bear is the same animal that was photographed by wildlife cameras in late April and early May in the nearby Garmisch-Partenkirchen district. At that time it was possible to take DNA samples.
Based on the wildlife camera images, individualization and gender determination is not possible, said a spokesman. This requires genetically usable material.
Also in July, cyclists in Austria near the German border reported seeing a bear. The animal is said to have stayed on the "Bärenbad" forest path near Langkampfen in the Tyrolean district of Kufstein, around ten kilometers southwest of the Bavarian municipality of Kiefersfelden in the district of Rosenheim.
In May, around 15 sheep were also killed near Scharnitz in Tyrol. Based on the crack pattern, the local authorities assumed it was a bear. According to the state of Tyrol, wildlife cameras from the Scharnitz municipality also showed a bear. Whether it is different bears or the same one - it is still unclear.
The nearest bear population is in Trentino, Italy, about 120 km from Bavaria. There are currently around 60 bears living there, with a slight upward trend. Individual animals are also found in the border triangle of Slovenia, Italy and Austria. Young bears in particular migrate long distances over months or years - they are looking for a partner. If they don't find a female bear, they return to their area of origin, mostly to Trentino in the case of local bears.
"It is therefore not to be expected that bears will settle permanently in Bavaria," said the spokesman. However, individual males could be traveling along the northern chain of the Alps for some time. The LfU advises hikers and day-trippers in southern Upper Bavaria not to leave any leftovers or rubbish in nature.
