– We assume that it is this one that has been seen over half of Eastern Norway in the last seven or eight weeks, says felling leader Håkon Borgen. It was on Monday afternoon that the Norwegian State Administrator in Oslo and Viken gave permission to kill the bear. By then, the bear had killed two lambs in Rollag, confirmed by the State Nature Inspectorate’s carcass investigations. – A felling attempt was launched yesterday afternoon, which ended with us observing it in direct attack on sheep, says Borgen. He says that they then let the dog go after the bear. – The bear was felled at half past five in the morning today at the border with Trillemarka in Rollag. Took the lives of several sheep In Buskerud, before the felling, it was documented that the bear had taken five animals in Flå municipality and four animals in Rollag, but according to Borgen, significantly greater losses are suspected. – Documentation of a bear in several places in the last few days makes it likely that this is the same individual for which felling permission was granted on 26/06/2023, wrote the State Administrator in the decision. The picture shows the carcass of a sheep that was taken by the bear. Photo: The State Nature Inspectorate “The State Administrator points out that predatory game region 2 does not have a goal of having breeding brown bears in our region. In addition, the relevant grazing area where the damage has occurred is an area where grazing animals have priority. Adjacent areas have a lot of grazing animals, and the damage potential is considered high. The State Administrator assesses that a removal of bears in the area in question will not cause irreversible damage to the population of brown bears, cf. Section 12. Section 11 of the Natural Diversity Act applies to the costs of environmental degradation, and is not considered relevant here,” the State Administrator further writes in his assessment. – It is a relatively small male bear. 2-3 years and just under 100 kilos, says Borgen. – The bear now started to behave quite scary towards the sheep, where it just knocks the sheep to the ground and eats the udder. We euthanized some sheep yesterday where the udder was missing and the sheep was alive, says Borgen. Long trip in Eastern Norway In mid-May, a young male bear was observed along national highway 4 near Lygna in Gran. Ole Knut Steinset, the professional responsible for large carnivores at the State Nature Inspectorate (SNO) in Oppland, could then say that this bear had been on a real long trip. – We are reasonably sure that one and the same bear has walked a circuit from Elverum to Skedsmokorset. There it has turned and gone north on the west side of Mjøsa, Steinset said. – He has ended up in an area where we have rarely seen bears before. He has been walking near roads and exposing himself quite a bit, so he doesn’t seem too afraid of people, he added. According to SNO, the bear had a long journey before it was observed at highway 4 in Lygna. Up to the State Administrator to assess felling Monday’s felling permit was granted in Rollag, Sigdal and Flesberg municipalities. But it was Drammen municipality, through regional felling leader Håkon Borgen, who were responsible for the felling. – We depend on a fairly large crew, because there are large areas. At the last part of the felling, there were 13 of us, says Borgen. He emphasizes that it is up to the State Administrator to make the assessment as to whether the bear should be felled or not, and that the felling team is there to do a job. – It is up to the State Administrator in each individual county to determine the damage potential. An assessment here may not be applicable in another county, says Borgen and elaborates: – It depends on the extent to which grazing animals should have priority, migration patterns and damage potential. They make a complex assessment and make that decision. We don’t think anything of it, we just implement the job the State Administrator says we have to do. At the beginning of May, a bear was observed in Gjerdrum in Viken. Photo: Line Torp Hundevadt
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Bear shot in Rollag – probably the same brown bear that has been observed in several places in Eastern Norway – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
