The brown bear's (Ursus arctos) habitat overlaps with the area of human activity, therefore interactions on different levels are inevitable. To maintain successful and sustainable coexistence of humans and the bear low level of conflicts should be kept. In order to achieve that it is essential to monitor different stakeholders’ opinions since they live and work in the same area. Furthermore, it is crucial to analyse collected data and to plan further actions according to conclusions. The aim of the study has been determination of a meaning of the conflict between the humans and the bear and if location has any influence on it. In total 1209 questionnaires have been included in the study. A spectrum of human-bear conflict situations identified through focus group discussions was shaped into a questionnaire and respondents assessed how problematic or likeable was the situation for them personally on a 5-point scale. Factor analysis identified two components which were interpreted as “perceived threat” and “economic damages” and later on used to determine a conflict. Components have been analysed against following independent factors: study area (Dinarics, Alps), sociodemographic factors (age, gender, education), belonging to a stakeholder group (hunter, beekeeper, farmer), personal experiences with the bears, and knowledge about the bears. Regardless of mentioned factors, respondents scored positively on “perceived threat” component, meaning that majority actually appreciates “perceived threat” situations such as “seeing bear tracks in nearby forest”. On the other hand, “economic damages” has been assessed as problematic by all groups, especially those in Dinaric Mts. - study area with high density of bears. Therefore, for sustainable coexistence actions that tackle the issue of preventing damages caused by the brown bear are proposed, starting with raising awareness of damage prevention.
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