Knowledge Base

Here you can find Pavel Pashkov’s answers to the most frequently asked questions.

How do roads affect the integrity of the taiga?What is the Concept of Territories of Full Ecological Tranquility (TFET) and how does it differ from the existing global protected area system?What are Public Initiatives and how do they help protect nature?What are ancient forests?How many bears are there in Russia overall?What is the 'Green Page' and why is it needed?What do studies say about fires and roads?Why don't petitions to protect wildlife work?Is it necessary to write to government authorities if the responses are just formalities?Why do bears approach humans, and is it related to pine nuts?Is it true that forests in Russia are only increasing?What do we need to do to have a global impact on environmental issues?How can an ordinary person help wildlife?What do we propose to solve the problem?They want to allow bears to be killed all winter during hibernationWhat threat has emerged for the reserves?How should we protect nature to achieve real change?Can the shooting of bears provoke new encounters between animals and humans?Why am I against planting forests in "rows" and critical of modern reforestation?The increase in quotas for bear hunting coincided with the expansion of the sports hunting industryHow do ancient forests affect the climate?Why do we need our online Earth observation station?Why bears and how is the register organized?How is the area of Russia's intact forest landscapes changing?

Can the shooting of bears provoke new encounters between animals and humans?

Scientific research shows that mass shooting of bears can disrupt the natural distribution of animals across territories and create additional problems, including increasing the likelihood of their appearance near humans. In 2017, scientists from Sweden published a study on brown bears for the years 2008–2015. They found that killing an adult male disrupts the spatial organization of the population for at least two years! Other males begin to enter the vacated territory, competition intensifies, and the risk of killing unrelated cubs increases. The higher the intensity of hunting, the more significant the changes in the behavior of the surviving animals. In another study from 2016, scientists discovered that female bears with cubs might deliberately stay closer to human habitation to protect their offspring from aggressive males. Researchers called this phenomenon the "human shield." They studied 19 cases of cub survival and 11 cases of entire litter deaths. Females that successfully preserved their offspring more often chose areas closer to humans, which adult males usually avoid. This creates a dangerous chain: hunters kill adult males, surviving bears begin to redistribute territories, competition intensifies, and females with offspring may approach humans seeking safety. According to our register, the permitted quotas for bear hunting in Russia have approximately doubled over seven years. Therefore, we believe it is necessary to study how such an increase in hunting pressure affects the behavior of surviving animals and the frequency of conflicts with humans. Swedish studies confirmed the disruption of the population's spatial organization after shooting, increased risk of cub mortality, and the use of human presence by females to protect offspring. How these processes affect bear encounters with populated areas in Russia needs to be verified by separate studies. We oppose further expansion of shooting without studying these consequences. Killing adult bears can trigger a chain of disruptions that persist for years and affect other animals. This danger must be considered when making decisions about population management.
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