Bear and Wolf Emergency Teams
In recent decades, populations of large carnivores have been recovering across much of Europe.
This recovery has been supported by biodiversity conservation policies, including the EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and the Natura 2000 network. However, it is also driven by a combination of other factors, such as the abandonment of extensive farming and traditional livestock grazing, changes in land use, the recovery of wild ungulate populations (their natural prey), inadequate management of rural waste, and habitat fragmentation.
Together, these factors have created favourable conditions for the return of large carnivores and have contributed to their increasingly frequent presence in and around human settlements.
However, as a result of the changes that have taken place over the past 15 years, both in areas where large carnivores have naturally returned and in regions where they have always been present, coexistence with people is not always without challenges. Human–carnivore interactions have become increasingly complex due to the continued fragmentation of natural habitats by human activities, which exposes wildlife to greater risks, as well as changes in land use that have altered the availability and distribution of food resources. In recent years, large carnivores have too often become victims of retaliatory killings by frustrated livestock producers or targets of illegal hunting.
At Callisto, we place great emphasis on promoting effective approaches for managing the return of large carnivores and addressing the new challenges associated with their recovery.
For brown bears, we have established, equipped, and operate a dedicated Bear Rapid Response Team, which provides practical support to local communities and the competent authorities—including the Forest Service, Police, and local government—in managing incidents involving human–bear interactions. Callisto also played a key role in developing the national Bear Incident Response Protocol, which was formally adopted through a Joint Ministerial Decision published in the Government Gazette (Issue B, No. 272, 7 February 2014).
Similarly, we have established a Wolf Emergency Team to assist in the management of human–wolf interactions. At the same time, we continue to advocate for the formal adoption of a dedicated national response protocol to support effective incident management and further reduce conflicts between wolves and people.