Save the Bear

2024 – present

The brown bear is a native inhabitant of Baikal’s protected areas. With the increasing tourist flow to Baikal and the amount of food waste left on the territory, the brown bear changes its behaviour: the animal, which can smell food at a distance of 2.5 km, starts to eat from rubbish bins. The predator gets so used to easy prey that it adapts to people’s routines and manages to pick up its prey before the waste is removed.

Improper handling of food waste is dangerous both for the brown bear and for visitors and employees of the specially protected natural area. The predator is no longer afraid of humans – it gets used to people and can attack anyone carrying food or food waste at any time, which can lead to its shooting.

The project “Save the Bear” is aimed at solving the problem of food waste management and bears approaching tourists on the territory of the Zabaikalsky National Park (Republic of Buryatia). The project provides for the creation of pilot waste accumulation sites protected from bears and other wild animals, systematic environmental education for visitors to the protected area and local residents, and sharing experience with other protected areas in Russia.

Бурый медведь
Brown bear

Goal of the project:

to solve the problem of food waste management and bears approaching tourists on the territory of the Baikal Special Protection Area

Targets:

  1. Establish and install specialised pilot bear-resistant waste accumulation sites.
  2. Conduct an educational campaign on food waste management and brown bear behaviour, including the creation of leaflets for the staff and volunteers of the protected area, installation of information stands, creation of a video on the peculiarities of bear behaviour, and equipping an interactive “Bear’s Corner” in the national park.
  3. Hold events to share experience with other PAs in Russia.

As a result of the project, it is expected to reduce the number of brown bear exits and reduce the amount of food waste left in the Zabaikalsky National Park.

The project is implemented with the support of the Presidential Grants Foundation and the World Around You Foundation of Siberian Wellness.

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Photos by B. Kholkhoev, V. Maleev

Publications

New information boards for the project “Save the Bear!” have appeared in the Zabaykalsky National Park, the Lake Baikal Foundation, 07.11.2024

Information boards “Save the Bear!” appeared in Buryatia, Буряад Yнэн, 11.11.2024

A cycle of eco-lessons was organised under the project “Save the Bear!” with the support of the Foundation, the Lake Baikal Foundation, 10.02.2025

Bears sleep while they’re being talked about, FSBI “Zapovednoe Podlemorye”, 13.02.2025

Bear- protected waste sites to be installed in Buryatia’s national park, Newspaper RB, 20.02.2025



Sustainable Tourism