Theriologia Ukrainica (Jul 2024)
Bear (Ursus arctos) markings of trees in the Chornobyl Biosphere Reserve
Abstract
For the first time in the Ukrainian Polissia and the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve (ChREBR), a concentrated linear distribution of bear-marked spruce trees was found at the abandoned estates of the village of Opachychi along the second terrace of the Prypiat River floodplain. Individual sightings of bears (Ursus arctos) in the Ukrainian Polissia have been known since the 1990s, but there are no reliable data on the reproduction of this species. The abundance of bears in Belarus has increased in recent years, which leads to the possibility of females coming to the Polissia from the north. Dried spruce trees without resin were not marked by the bear, and the animal moved on to live trees. Friction and more intensive marking of trees was recorded mainly in the eastern direction. Most of the marked spruce trees were upright with no branches to the height of the marking. The intensive marking behaviour of bears in 2023 in the ChREBR can be considered as the appearance of a female, as signalling to a female, and as a sign of dominance towards a male competitor. Two adult males were observed near one of the marked trees (data from amateurs). Special field surveys are needed to identify females with cubs to confirm or refute the hypothesis that the intensity of bear marking can be used in the event of the presence of a female bear in oestrus. Along the bear-marked trees in the village of Opachychi of the ChPEBR, an ecological trail and a visitor centre of large carnivores and herbivores should be created, which would be popular destinations. It is advisable to arrange a location for wildlife observations in an abandoned house for photo and video shooting, as is usually done in Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, and Spain. In such tours, the effectiveness of the observation is not guaranteed and only preliminary statistics of wildlife encounters are provided. For this purpose, it is advisable to create two feeding areas for predatory mammals with dry food, as well as a salt marsh and a feeding trough for ungulates. The majority of the ChREBR territory has a low incidence of markings. The bear in the Polissia, as elsewhere in Europe, is expanding its range naturally, but at a slow pace due to the low intensity of female dispersal. Tree marking by bears was also observed in Chernihiv Oblast, in the Mizhrichynskyi Regional Landscape Park. It is advisable to release several bears in the ChEBR to create a reproductive centre for this species in the Polissia.
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