Can we live with bears in Europe? Yes. Many of us already do. As I argue in LIFELINES, co-existence isn’t just an ethical or ecological issue but a practical arrangement, requiring honest dialogue, reliable compensation schemes & the return of traditional skills. www.theguardian.com/environment/... - ThreadSky

julianhoffman.bsky.social • 1 day ago

Can we live with bears in Europe?

Yes. Many of us already do. As I argue in LIFELINES, co-existence isn’t just an ethical or ecological issue but a practical arrangement, requiring honest dialogue, reliable compensation schemes & the return of traditional skills.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/23/europe-carnivores-predators-bears-animals-continent-scientists

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megoizzy.bsky.social•1 day ago

There are some great case studies for how rewilding has not only been fine but actually benefitted a number of local communities. The Rewilding Europe efforts in the Italian Apennines has brought back Marsican brown bears + wolves and created loads of tourism and a goods pipeline for local producers

julianhoffman.bsky.social•11 hours ago

Yes, so true. I was reading some of those reports not long ago. And while there are still local conflicts here at times, by and large there is remarkable tolerance too, particuarly towards brown bears. Though much less so for wolves still...

megoizzy.bsky.social•11 hours ago

Have you read Wolfish by Erica Berry? Fascinating deep-dive into the human psyche around wolves. I did a lot of research on wolves for one chapter of my book (coming soon) about our relationship with predators and why some are vilified more than others. So interesting.

julianhoffman.bsky.social•11 hours ago

Ah, Wolfish has been on my TBR pile for a while now, so you've just pushed it towards the top with this recommendation! Thank you. And so looking forward to learning more about your book as well!

cheddarz.bsky.social•1 day ago

Of course. About 15 years ago, I spent some time in a rural part of NW Georgia US and was lucky to observe a mother black bear and cubs foraging. The locals were used to seeing them.

julianhoffman.bsky.social•1 day ago

Yes, that's so true. It's the exact same here in northern Greece, where I find signs of bears in the valley behind our village on most days. Wonderful that you had the chance to observe them!

groinhammer.bsky.social•10 hours ago

In parts of Europe yes, but bears in the UK would be a ridiculous proposition. Despite the vast wilderness of Canada they have a problem with what they term ‘Garbage Bears’, which scavenge on the outskirts of urban areas. Bears will seek out the easiest meal option. Why wouldn’t they?

julianhoffman.bsky.social•10 hours ago

Actually bears don't seek out the easiest meal option at all. It's far more complicated than that and is related to fear factor, habitat intactness, nutritional value, size of territories, animal density and seasonal wild food availability. We live with brown bears in our valley every single day.

groinhammer.bsky.social•9 hours ago

Fair points all, but as climate issues mount up will their food sources diminish? I take it the bears are native and already adapted to their environment and not part of a rewilding program. My friends in Canada have regular problems with bears, and I was staying with them when one needed to be shot

groinhammer.bsky.social•9 hours ago

It was a youngish bear, and had lost a degree of fear of humans. We had tried to scare it away several times, including warning shots, but it was tracking residents of a long established summer camp in the treeline. After it had chased two young girls they had no choice.

groinhammer.bsky.social•9 hours ago

You have to report the shooting, and the body is collected and examined by a department for the province to check health, weight, age, stomach contents and the like. The entire incident is one of my most sad and grim memories.

groinhammer.bsky.social•9 hours ago

When they take rubbish to the big steel bins they have to bang the sides with a stick because the bears manage to open the lids and climb in. If there’s movement you run for a cabin, because they come out angry and scared. They used to put big rocks on the lids, but the bears just destroyed the lids

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