Presence and Damage
Most bears in Switzerland behave inconspicuously. Occasionally, damage to livestock or apiaries can be documented. Often, problematic individuals are responsible for numerous incidents, while others hardly attract attention.
Damages since 2005
Since their return to Switzerland, some bears have occasionally killed livestock, raided apiaries or entered alpine huts and stables in search of food. Compensation is provided for any damage caused. The frequency of such incidents has generally decreased over time. So far, there have been no incidents involving humans in Switzerland. The vast majority of bears observed in Switzerland have behaved inconspicuously. The following graphic illustrates that most of the concentrated damage can be attributed to a few individuals. Two of these bears, classified as problematic bears according to the Bear Concept, were fitted with transmitters due to their damaging behaviour and were shot after deterrence attempts proved unsuccessful.
Damages caused by bears up to the 20th century
Analyses of historical sources by the Swiss researcher Kurt Eiberle (1986) show that in many cases where a bear was killed before its definitive extermination, a damaging incident had preceded it. Attacks on sheep grazing in summer pastures occurred almost every year in the mid-19th century. According to notes, sheep were the most frequently affected animals, with reports of incidents involving the loss of more than 20 animals and the death of several dozen pursued animals from falls. Damage to cattle, horses and goats was also recorded, but less frequently. However, as detailed descriptions of the attacks were often lacking, it could not always be verified whether a bear was indeed responsible for the damage. Over a period of almost five centuries, five incidents involving humans have been documented. In cases where the event was explained in more detail, it always involved injured bears defending themselves against hunters or woodcutters. An incident in Valais in 1830 ended fatally for a hunter who was struck by a bear's paw. The bear was shot the next day.