Compatibility of brown bear Ursus arctos and free-ranging sheep in Norway Original Research Article

In 1992, the Norwegian Parliament adopted a plan for brown bear Ursus arctos management. The main goal of the plan was two-fold: (1) ensure viable bear populations within five core areas along the border of neighbouring countries; and (2) limit the damage caused by bear on sheep Ovis aries grazing on open rangeland, which has increased over the last few years. In this study we have examined the possibility of attaining both these political aims. Sheep losses in two study areas within bear core areas rose considerably during the period 1981–1993, when the Scandinavian bear population increased by 1·5% a year. We found a significant correlation between the estimated number of bears and the loss of grazing ewes in both areas. No such relationship was found in the control areas (considered to be without bears) adjacent to the study area. We found no relationship between number of ewes lost and number of ewes grazing. Shooting of bears that presumably killed sheep had no effect on the number of ewes lost during the following season, probably because the number of bears killed in Norway was less than the number of bears immigrating from Sweden. Killing more bears is not compatible with the political aims of the management plan. It is difficult to reach all the political goals under the current situation. The loss of sheep will probably continue to increase unless changes are made in sheep husbandry methods in the core areas. Alternatively, sheep must be moved out of the areas set aside for the re-establishment of bears.