There are a few bear-related incidents every year, usually during hunting. It is not as common for a bear to attack forest visitors such as berry pickers and the like, where the risk of a bear attack is extremely small.
– The bear does not want to meet us humans. If you come across a bear in the forest, it probably already has an eye on us and pulls away, says Benny Gäfvert, predator expert at WWF.
If a bear nevertheless goes on the attack, it is usually a so-called sham attack where the bear turns just before it arrives. It simply wants to make the person leave the place.
The bear tribe has gradually increased
Today there are between 2500-3000 bears in Sweden and the number has been stable with a slowly increasing trend.
Predator expert Benny Gäfvert believes that there are several factors that influence how many bear attacks occur. Among other things, how many bears there are, the size of the population, hunting methods and how many people hunt are some of these.
A dangerous situation can then arise
Just like with other animals, a female bear wants to protect her cubs, so it is wise to back away if you happen to encounter bear cubs in the woods.
– Should you accidentally get between a female and her cubs, it could become a dangerous situation. If you see bear cubs but no female, you should move quickly, says Jessica Backeryd, wildlife officer at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
She also mentions that there can be bear-related incidents when dogs are involved but that it is not the dogs that are the actual reason for a bear attack.
– An attack usually occurs when the bear is shot at and the dogs that are with the bear run back to the human. But I would say that an uninjured bear that has dogs after it usually does not attack, says Jessica Backeryd.
Hear Benny Gäfvertler list more instances where bear attacks are more common in the clip above.