Monitoring the brown bear species
30 June 2025
In July, field work on the project "Monitoring the Brown Bear Species" is expected to begin in the mountainous regions of our country. The three directorates of the national parks - "Pirin", "Rila" and "Central Balkan" and five of the six state forestry enterprises - "Northwestern State Enterprise", "Northcentral State Enterprise" and the three southern enterprises will be involved in the studies. Field activities for collecting samples will continue until the end of November this year, after which a DNA analysis of the collected material will be carried out in a genetic laboratory in Slovenia, where they have many years of experience in genetic research in monitoring the brown bear.
The aim of the project is to assess the number and gender structure of the bear in the country through genetic analysis, as well as to monitor the presence of inbreeding (closely related crossing) among the animals.
The project is worth 1,600,000 leva. and is financed under the Operational Program "Environment" 2021-2027. The beneficiary of the project is the Executive Agency for Environment. Its implementation began in April 2025 and should be completed by March 2027.
As part of the Annual Plan for Monitoring of Environmental Components, brown bear monitoring is conducted annually on the entire territory of the "Central Balkan National Park" based on direct and indirect observations of the species. The monitoring aims to provide a more accurate picture of the size of the bear population in the protected area.
The brown bear is a strictly protected species according to Bulgarian and European legislation. In our country, the species is included in Appendix No. 3 of the Biodiversity Act, which guarantees the highest level of protection, and illegal actions against bears are classified as a crime according to the Criminal Code and are punishable not only with a fine, but also with imprisonment.
The aim of the project is to assess the number and gender structure of the bear in the country through genetic analysis, as well as to monitor the presence of inbreeding (closely related crossing) among the animals.
The project is worth 1,600,000 leva. and is financed under the Operational Program "Environment" 2021-2027. The beneficiary of the project is the Executive Agency for Environment. Its implementation began in April 2025 and should be completed by March 2027.
As part of the Annual Plan for Monitoring of Environmental Components, brown bear monitoring is conducted annually on the entire territory of the "Central Balkan National Park" based on direct and indirect observations of the species. The monitoring aims to provide a more accurate picture of the size of the bear population in the protected area.
The brown bear is a strictly protected species according to Bulgarian and European legislation. In our country, the species is included in Appendix No. 3 of the Biodiversity Act, which guarantees the highest level of protection, and illegal actions against bears are classified as a crime according to the Criminal Code and are punishable not only with a fine, but also with imprisonment.
