Undefined situation
Online maps that track individual bear sightings capture a situation at a specific moment in time and cannot determine the presence or absence of bears in a given area. Bears can cover significant distances in relatively short periods of time: for example, within a quarter of an hour of being reported, the animal can be a kilometer away. Furthermore, over the course of a day, a bear can travel tens of kilometers: an animal observed in one spot in a valley can, a few hours later, be in another valley or a very distant area. For this reason, the geolocation of a single sighting cannot be used to predict the animal's whereabouts. This is the clarification from the Large Carnivore Sector of the Wildlife Service of the Province of Trento, which recommends always following the rules for coexistence with bears, listed below and on the Grandicarnivori.provincia.tn.it portal, also considering the number of specimens present in the area and their distribution throughout western Trentino.
No alarmism
The presence of a specific report should not cause alarm, and the absence of reports should not be interpreted as a guarantee of the absence of wild animals. The dissemination of a specific location can also have a boomerang effect, attracting curious onlookers intent on seeking a close encounter with the animal. Such behavior can increase disturbance to wildlife and, above all, the risk of accidents. The Grandicarnivori.provincia.tn.it portal provides a map showing the areas where the presence of female bears accompanied by their cubs has been reported. This information service was created as part of institutional and scientific monitoring.
Monthly reports
Even in this case, it is important to interpret the data correctly. Areas not indicated on the map cannot be considered completely free of females accompanied by cubs. Females appear to be more sedentary than males, but it should be noted that the number of reports gradually develops throughout the season, and therefore the map cannot be guaranteed to be exhaustive. Information regarding events involving large carnivores is also collected in the monthly reports published on the portal. The reports also include predation incidents reported to the Province and confirmed by technical inspections, along with information from monitoring activities (source: Province of Trento).
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