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Chapter 19 - Bears in Human-Modified Landscapes: The Case Studies of the Cantabrian, Apennine, and Pindos Mountains

from Part III - Human–Bear Coexistence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2020

By
Vincenzo Penteriani ,
Alexandros A. Karamanlidis ,
Andrés Ordiz ,
Paolo Ciucci ,
Luigi Boitani ,
Giorgio Bertorelle ,
Alejandra Zarzo-Arias ,
Giulia Bombieri ,
Enrique González-Bernardo  and
Paola Morini
...Show all authors
Edited by
Vincenzo Penteriani  and
Mario Melletti
Vincenzo Penteriani
Affiliation:
Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC)
Mario Melletti
Affiliation:
WPSG (Wild Pig Specialist Group) IUCN SSC
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Summary

Brown bears Ursus arctos were historically persecuted and almost eradicated from southern Europe in the twentieth century as a result of hunting and direct persecution. The effects of human-induced mortality were exacerbated by other threats, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, due to the expansion of human populations. As a result, nowadays there are only small fragmented populations of bears in southern Europe. Brown bears in the Cantabrian (north-western Spain), Apennine (central Italy), and Pindos (north-western Greece) mountains represent three examples of small and threatened bear populations in human-modified landscapes. Most of their range is characterized by high human densities, widespread agricultural activities, livestock raising and urban development, connected by dense networks of transport infrastructures. This has resulted in a reduction of continuous habitat suitable for the species. Here, we summarize the past and present histories and fates of these three populations as examples on how the coexistence of bears and people in human-modified landscapes can take different turns depending on human attitudes.

Keywords

brown bearUrsus arctoshuman-dominated landscapehuman disturbancePindosCantabrianApennine
Type
Chapter
Information
Bears of the World
Ecology, Conservation and Management
 , pp. 260 - 272
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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