After a long-term non-invasive monitoring of brown bears using camera traps, the administration of the Veľká Fatra National Park finally found a way and proceeded to solve the problem of how to rid bears of telemetric collars that were not unfastened for various reasons (failure of the disconnect device, short time interval from the installation of the collar, etc.).
Currently, we register at least 5 animals in our own territory of the Veľká Fatra National Park, which still move with telemetry collars, despite the fact that they no longer transmit a signal. Some of these individuals were telemetrized by the SOP SR and some by the NLC in the past. Thanks to a unique camera system and online transmission from the migration route of large carnivores, we gained very valuable information this year and managed to read the numbers of ear tags from the camera recordings. On May 4, 2018, we managed to put the telemetered bear “Slava” to sleep and disconnect the telemetered bear, which was marked NLC in the past. The bear was put to sleep directly without a trapping device so that it was shot with a narcotic dart. The intervention was successful and the whole action was very successful. His collar was disconnected and the bear woke up from anesthesia within two hours. That same evening, he was captured by an MMS camera trap. This intervention managed not only to remove the load that the bear had to carry, but also to obtain very valuable movement data, which the device continued to store even though it could no longer send data. Many thanks for cooperation and professional approach belong to Ing. Slavomír Finďa, CSc and MVDr. Michal Belák. Monitoring and logistics of falling asleep was provided by Ing. Juraj Žiak. We also thank the owner and user of the land for their cooperation.
Since this project has proven to be extremely effective and we have successfully “disconnected” the first bear, we want to continue this activity. We assume that we could be able to disconnect the remaining individuals, as it is a very time-consuming activity, it will be necessary to plan this activity for several years. As the spatio-temporal activity of the brown bear has changed significantly after the end of the rut, we will have a chance of success again in the autumn. Until then, we will continue to monitor. So far, we can say with certainty that no animal in the Veľká Fatra Mountains suffers from suffocation or impaired breathing, as it has been presented to the public several times. We have completely excluded this possibility from camera recordings and direct observations, all individuals with telemetry collars show good condition. The data that telemetry brought from this area is very valuable and was also implemented in decision-making processes during the construction of D1.
Bear “Šimon” with ear tag No. 8, captured and marked by telemetry device in 2015.
The bear “Šimon” captured by a camera trap at the trapping device in 2016.
Bear “Šimon” in current condition, documented in May 2018 by Miroslav Švábik.
Putting the bear to sleep “Glory” and disconnecting the telemetry collar, May 2018. Ing. Slavomír Finďo CSc., MVDr. Michal Belák, Ing. Juraj Žiak.
A female bear with ear tag No. 5, which was captured by an online camera.
A female bear with a telemetry collar marked NLC – in 2014.
Bear “Žigo” with ear tag No. 3. Captured by an online camera in June 2018.
Text and photos : Ing. Juraj Žiak
