The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Austrian Bears
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles 
on 01.27.08
Image courtesy of Shellie Raney via flickr
What — or who — is behind the mysterious disappearance of 20-25 Austrian bears? While that number may seem small, it in fact represents four fifths of the bear population that makes its living in the forests of Lower Austria and Styria. The disappearances, which started occurring in the late 90s, have caused sufficient consternation among local residents and environmentalists to lead to an investigation by the Austrian police.
Christoph Waldner of WWF attributes their disappearance to one of three reasons: natural mortality, migration or hunting — which is illegal because of the bears' endangered status. To Waldner, it seems pretty clear that hunters are to blame for the bears' disappearance.
He quickly dismisses the first two possibilities, arguing that it is highly unlikely that so many bears could have died of natural causes over such a short time period (no cadavers were ever found); since no bears have ever been sighted near the Slovenian or Italian borders, he deems migration a non-issue. Others point out that the bears may simply have been killed by accident since wild boars — whose hunting is permitted at night — frequently wander into their habitats.
The authorities have so far had little luck tracking down the missing bears; they recently discovered two stuffed bears, which, upon further investigation, they found out had been killed a long time ago. Scientists are increasingly concerned that the bears could soon go extinct; at last count, they found only 38 still in existence.
Via ::Le Monde: La mystérieuse disparition des ours autrichiens (French newspaper)
See also: ::Biofuels Threatening German Gummy Bear Habitat, ::Follow the Ice and Save the Polar Bears
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Care About Bears? You Can Help Save Them
- Save Water in Your Garden: 5 Tips for Maximum Conservation
- Can Your Fishing Habits Save the Coral Reefs?
- Get Behind Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor—60 Green Groups Already Have
- Just Use Less! A Bathroom Conservation Checklist
- Eat a Vegetarian Diet, Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by a Ton
Brought to you by the friendly folks who put lead paint on kids toys and poison in pet food.
There's a huge folk medicine related demand in China for bear gall bladders and such. (Purely based on superstition - there's no real medicinal value.)
At any rate, since wealthy Chinese are getting more numerous at the expense of Americans, poaching of bears can be expected to worsen until the bears are extinct.
Think I'm making this up? "Bear gall bladders, valued by some for medicinal purposes, fetch $100 to $400 here [by Asians living in North America] and between $6,000 to $25,000 in Asia, according to WDFW enforcement officers." http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/release.php?id=jan0699a
Even these values are an underestimate now that illegal and inhumane "bear gall bladder farms" have been shut down in China. http://wildlife-conservation.suite101.com/article.cfm/bear_poaching_in_north_america
It could also be due to global warming??
Hi,
I'd like to introduce myself. I am Shellie Raney.
This is my photograph you acquired off of Flickr.com.
I would like for you to make the correct changes in your statement here.
What — or who — is behind the mysterious disappearance of 20-25 Austrian bears? While that number may seem small, it in fact represents four fifths of the bear population that makes its living in the forests of Lower Austria and Styria. The disappearances, which started occurring in the late 90s, have caused sufficient consternation among local residents and environmentalists to lead to an investigation by the Austrian police.
This photograph was taken in Seward Alaska July 2007, I would like that duley noted here in your posted information.
I understand you are making reference to Austrian Bears.
Please make correct changes.
Sincerely,
Shellie Raney