A young female brown bear, approximately two years old, was found shot dead in an important ecological corridor between Albania and Greece.
A sad sight: the female bear that had been shot
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Sad news reached our Greek partners Callisto and NECCA (Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency) last week: a young brown bear was shot and killed in Prespa National Park. The approximately two-year-old female bear was found dead near the village of Vrontero, tourists alerted local authorities. A veterinary examination confirmed that the animal died from gunshot wounds.
The incident occurred in an ecologically important cross-border area that connects bear populations in Greece and Albania. The region is also part of the project area of LIFE DinPin Bear, a large-scale conservation initiative coordinated by EuroNatur and implemented together with 20 partner organizations and institutions to secure the long-term conservation of the Dinaric-Pindos brown bear population.
“The entire LIFE DinPin Bear team is deeply saddened by this news,” says Antje Henkelmann, project manager at EuroNatur. “We are working across borders to better understand and protect this bear population. Illegal killings like this undermine these efforts, even in protected areas such as Prespa National Park. Every bear lost in this way is a painful reminder of how much work still lies ahead.”
Brown bears are strictly protected under Greek, European and international legislation. Nevertheless, illegal killings continue to pose a serious threat to the species in parts of southeastern Europe. Conservation organizations and public authorities have strongly condemned the incident and called for a thorough investigation.
The shooting is a stark reminder that effective conservation requires not only habitat protection and cross-border cooperation, but also decisive action against wildlife crime. Equally important are efforts to prevent and mitigate conflicts between humans and bears and to promote peaceful coexistence with local communities. Protecting bears in landscapes such as Prespa is essential for maintaining ecological connectivity across the Balkans and ensuring a future for this iconic species.
Background information:
- Brown bear: Brown bears are strictly protected in Europe under the EU Habitats Directive and the Berne Convention. The Dinaric-Pindos brown bear population, with around 4.000 individuals, is distributed across the nine project countries of LIFE DinPin Bear: Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina/Republika Srpska), Greece, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
- LIFE DinPin Bear: LIFE DinPin Bear brings together 20 organisations from nine countries in South-Eastern Europe. The project's main objective is to ensure the conservation and long-term protection of brown bears by addressing habitat fragmentation, improving the management of human-bear interactions and strengthening transboundary cooperation in monitoring and protecting the species. At the same time, the project seeks to encourage the active involvement and support of local communities, recognizing that their participation is essential to achieving sustainable coexistence between people and wildlife.