Abundance
SWITZERLAND
On 28 July 2005, a student from Germany took a picture of a bear in the Swiss National Park, the first bear in Switzerland in 100 years! Since 2005, bears have been reported in the Engadin and the National Park area almost every year. However so far, none of the bears that have entered Switzerland became resident. As far as possible, each immigrating bear is attempted to be identified by genetic methods. A feasibility study recognised suitable habitat within Switzerland. The area between the Trentino and the Grisons Alps is mountainous, rich in forests and largely pristine throughout, and works as a corridor between the Swiss and the Italian National Park. Consequently, it was to be expected from the beginning that individual bears would arrive in Switzerland in this area.
This picture was taken on 28 July 2005 in the Swiss National Park and shows the first bear which wandered into our country after 100 years.
© Maik Rehnus
Bear Presence in Switzerland 2005–2023. © KORA
ALPS & DINARIC MOUNTAINS
Within the Alps, bears are found in two areas. The Italian Trentino contains a small population, which was strengthened between 1999 and 2002 through the translocation of 10 bears from Slovenia. Bears also occur in the border triangle of Italy-Austria-Slovenia, with bears arriving from the Dinaric population. The latter is the source for the natural dispersal into the Alps as well as for translocation to Italy and Austria.
In 2019, there were 73-92 bears living in the Trentino. Between 2002 and 2018, 71 reproductions were recorded with a total of 144 cubs. The estimation for the Dinaric population in 2015 was 2,145 individuals (1,875–2,450). In the rest of the Alps, between the Trentino and the Dinaric mountains, an estimated 50–60 animals were present in 2015 – almost exclusively young, dispersing males.
In 1972, one bear travelled from Yugoslavia to Austria. In 1989–1993, three bears were released into the same area in the north-eastern Alps, creating a small population. However in 2011, all bears had disappeared again.
EUROPE
In 2024, a total population of 20,400 brown bears in 10 populations (LCIE Status Assessment 2017-2022/2023) was estimated. The distribution of the estimated number of individuals among the different populations is shown in the table below.
| Population | Countries | Estimate | Trend |
| Scandinavian | NOR, SWE | 3000 | Stable |
| Karelian | NOR, FIN | 2175 | Increasing |
| Baltic | EST, LVA | 1090 | Increasing |
| Carpathian | ROU, SVK, POL, SRB | 9000 | Increasing |
| Dinara-Pindos | SVN, HRV, BIH, MNE, MKD, ALB, SRB, GRC | 4112 | Stable |
| Alps | ITA, CHE, AUT, SVN | 100 | Increasing |
| Balkans | BGR, GRC, SRB | 460 | Stable |
| Apennine Mountains | ITA | 50 | Stable |
| Cantabrian | ESP | 324 | Increasing |
| Pyrenees | ESP, FRA | 86 | Stable |