Within the framework of the Regional project Bear-watching conducted by the Public Enterprise for National Parks of Montenegro in cooperation with WWF Adria and NGO Parks Dinarides, the first camera traps were set up in Biogradska National Park in order to detect brown bears and other animal species in this protected natural area.

The project also envisages setting a bear watch necklace to collect data on its numbers, movement, favorable habitats and other characteristics that are important for the protection and popularization of this species. Montenegro’s mountains are home to 50 to 100 brown bears, according to ecologists, while the national hunters’ association puts their number at 357.

All activities aim to involve as many local people as possible, as well as domestic and international visitors in an attractive tour for bear watching.This Project is implemented in NP Biogradska gora in Montenegro as well as in NP Tara in Serbia.

You can watch the short video here.

Sustainable brown bear watching tourism package soon in National Park Tara

Within the project Protected areas for nature and people WWF and Parks Dinarides are working jointly on establishing a sustainable brown bear watching tourism package in National Park Tara (Serbia) and National Park Biogradska gora (Montenegro), in order to improve cooperation between protected area management bodies and the local community, as well as to make a better tomorrow for both nature and people.

Precondition for creating such a package is to monitor the presence and movement of brown bears in both national parks. WWF and Parks Dinarides are monitoring the population of brown bears by using camera traps and GSM collars. Furthermore, thanks to the DNA analysis of brown bear samples we will be able to determine the actual number of brown bears in this protected area.

In National Park Biogradska gora after one year of camera traps monitoring, the first brown bear individuals were finally spotted. That is confirming years of good practice and know how, that WWF and Parks Dinarides are conducting in the region.

Monitoring of brown bears and the tourism offer of wildlife watching are a part of the big WWF Adria programme “Protected areas for nature and people” which started in October 2015 and will last until October 2019, and is funded by Sida. 

For further information contact ppetrac@wwfadria.org