In Hungary, we could only see bears in the zoos or at the Bear Farm in Veresegyház, but now a mama bear and her cub were spotted in the wild. They appeared near Aggtelek National Park, not far from Kánó.

People living and working there have seen multiple signs for the presence of the huge mammals but it wasn’t confirmed until a couple of days ago that there are two bears wandering somewhere in the wild. The last time when a mother and a cub were spotted was nine years ago, in 2008. The bears were wandering around for more than a month back then.

If you are planning to hike near Aggtelek National Park in the near future, the following information might be important for you. Brown bear is a typical omnivore, as it eats either grass, mushrooms, roots, fruits, insects and small mammals, even preys as big as a red deer. It is likely to consume herbs, berries and onions in the summer. It can be active both in day or night, but it mostly spends its time in its hideout.

It can march multiple hundred kilometres a year, and they don’t walk very far from their home. Especially when they have their cubs with them, too, because they are usually born in January or February and they first leave their home 3-4 months after, only for short times. So if the mother and the cub spotted near Aggtelek National Park were already seen during this summer, the baby bear might have been born here in Hungary.

So if you plan to hike up there you should stay on the marked trails and keep all the rules. If you see the bears, you must know that every mother bear is very protective with its cub so there is a good chance that she would be aggressive. So don’t disturb the bears, try to back out quietly and slowly, keeping the largest distance possible.

If the bear might realize that you are there, never turn your back on it and do not run away. Raise your hands high instead and speak, sing or whistle quietly. It is important that you shouldn’t be too loud because the bear might take it as an offence. If the bear sees you, but doesn’t really care about your presence, back out of its sight slowly.

And one more thing: the bear (Ursus arctos) is a highly-protected species in Hungary. The estimated value of an animal is about 800 euros. According to the law in the country, the killing of a highly-protected animal is a criminal act.

Source: http://24.hu/belfold/2017/09/11/ismet-vannak-medvek-magyarorszagon/