looduskalender.ee

Sunday night, Sven in the observation grounds

 

The bears that from time to time stray into the Alutaguse forest camera view don’t get there quite by chance. They sniff and they remember that in this place there might be a little something to be had (as did Winnie the Pooh). And of course that little something to enjoy for the bears doesn’t arrive in the forest by chance either. Some people condemn feeding bears and at times remind us of the US saying: “A fed bear is a dead bear“. It is of course true that bears don’t need extra feeding to get on with their lives – quite as tits, boars or eagles really don’t need it.

 

We lure the bears into view of the cameras and the observation hides for several reasons. Modern technical means – collars with signal transmission equipment to set on animals’ necks and cameras installed in the woods have enriched our knowledge about many bird and mammal species considerably. The chance to observe a bear in a web camera or directly from the hides broadens people’s perception of life in the forest and how different species interact there. Hopefully this brings the brown bears many friends and champions. And the bears need supporters: their future in this north-eastern corner of Estonia is far from cloudless. Alutaguse is the largest forest area in Estonia but - fortunately for some and unfortunately for others - there is oil shale in the ground and the lion’s share of electricity produced in Estonia comes from oil shale. Oil can also be produced from oil shale and this production will become ever more profitable as the petroleum resources run out. The northern part of north-eastern Estonia has already been thoroughly messed up by the oil shale mining, and now the underground mines are expanding southwards, including the area where now the bears - who already begin to be known by names by the forest camera devoted audiences -  amble around.

 

Meddling in the life of the largest predator of our forests carries a great responsibility. We must be sure that nothing untoward comes to the bears from this. They must not form any addiction to the bait food that is brought to the forest. From our previous experiences the bears will lose interest in carrion and disappear from the viewing grounds as berries ripen, returning again in late summer to fatten up for winter. What we offer as food to the bears should correspond to their natural diet. In order to avoid any risk of the bears linking humans to sources of easy food we carefully hide all signs of human presence,  particularly smells. The moments caught by the camera watchers help us to understand what happens in the feeding place and if needed to correct our own activities. The bears in Alutaguse can also be observed from hides. More about this on our home page: http://www.natourest.ee

 

http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/10380