Brown bears live in roughly two dozen European countries today, scattered across mountain ranges and boreal forests from Spain in the west to the Ural foothills in the east. The largest populations are in Romania, Sweden, and Finland, but bears also roam parts of Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, France, Spain, Austria, Estonia, and a handful of others. Some of these populations are thriving and expanding; others number in the dozens and teeter on the edge of viability. The map of European bears is not static, and the story behind each population is surprisingly different.
The Carpathian Stronghold
If there is a heartland for European brown bears, it is the Carpathian Mountains, an arc of forested highlands sweeping through Romania, Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine. Romania alone is home to the largest concentration of bears on the continent, with estimates commonly placed between 6,000 and 7,000 animals. The Eastern Carpathian subpopulation in Romania has never dropped below about 800 individuals, which means it has retained a level of genetic diversity that most other European populations lost long ago.1Conservation Genetics. Microsatellite diversity and structure of Carpathian brown bears (Ursus arctos): consequences of human caused fragmentation That makes Romania a genetic reservoir for the entire continent.
Slovakia supports a smaller but significant population in its portion of the Carpathians. Poland’s bears are concentrated in the Bieszczady Mountains along the southeastern border, where genetic studies using DNA samples from across the Western and Eastern Carpathians show ongoing expansion from more abundant populations into this area.2PubMed Central. Genetic differentiation and asymmetric gene flow among Carpathian brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations-Implications for conservation of transboundary populations Ukraine’s Carpathian bears are harder to count given limited monitoring resources, but they form a continuous population with Romanian and Polish animals. The Carpathian population is the most genetically connected large-bear population in Europe, though that connectivity faces growing threats from infrastructure development.
Scandinavia and Finland
Sweden and Finland together hold one of Europe’s largest bear populations. Sweden’s bears are concentrated in the central and northern forests, and the country’s population has rebounded dramatically from a low of roughly 130 animals across all of Scandinavia around 1930.3Wildlife Biology. The near extinction and recovery of brown bears in Scandinavia in relation to the bear management policies of Norway and Sweden By the mid-1990s, the Scandinavian population had recovered to an estimated 700 bears, with the vast majority in Sweden. Today, Sweden’s bear population is considerably larger still, numbering in the thousands after decades of continued growth and regulated hunting.
Norway’s bears tell a different story. In the mid-1800s, Norway held about 3,100 bears, roughly two-thirds of the Scandinavian total. But an aggressive eradication policy was more persistent in Norway than in Sweden, and by the 1920s bears had been virtually eliminated from the country. The bears that have returned to Norway since the 1970s are primarily immigrants from Sweden, except in the far north, where recolonization came from Finland and Russia.3Wildlife Biology. The near extinction and recovery of brown bears in Scandinavia in relation to the bear management policies of Norway and Sweden Norway’s bear numbers remain modest compared to its neighbor.
Finland supports a healthy bear population in its central and eastern forests, connected to the enormous Russian population across the border. Finnish bears are part of the same eastern genetic lineage that stretches across northern Eurasia. This connection to Russia is a major advantage: it ensures a steady influx of genetic diversity that isolated populations elsewhere in Europe lack entirely.
The Dinaric-Pindos Region and the Balkans
The mountain chain running from Slovenia down through Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and into Greece supports what researchers call the Dinaric-Pindos bear population, Europe’s third largest. GPS tracking of bears in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina has revealed seasonal migration patterns, with animals moving between lower and higher elevations throughout the year.4Journal of Zoology. Environmental and anthropogenic correlates of seasonal migrations in the Dinaric‐Pindos brown bear population
Slovenia punches above its weight for bear conservation. Despite being a small country, it has a dense bear population in its southern forests, and Slovenian bears have been the source stock for reintroduction programs elsewhere in Europe. When bears were brought to the Italian Alps and the French Pyrenees, they came from Slovenia. Croatia also holds a substantial portion of the Dinaric population, with bears living in the forested mountains of Lika and Gorski Kotar.
Further south, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Greece all have bears, though populations thin out as you move south and the mountains become more fragmented. The Greek population in the Pindos Mountains is the southernmost extension of this range and connects, albeit tenuously, to bears in North Macedonia and Albania. Bulgaria’s bears are primarily in the Rhodope and Rila-Pirin mountain systems and are linked to populations in both Greece and the broader Balkan network.
Spain’s Cantabrian Bears
Spain’s Cantabrian Mountains, running along the northern coast, harbor one of Western Europe’s most remarkable bear recovery stories. This population was isolated from all other European bears for centuries and came perilously close to extinction in the mid-1990s. Research tracking females with cubs showed that the population’s decline put it on the brink, but environmental changes and conservation measures eventually reversed the trend.5PubMed Central. Decline and recovery of a large carnivore: environmental change and long-term trends in an endangered brown bear population
The Cantabrian bear is the only isolated population in Western Europe that has shown clear natural recovery, driven partly by migration between its western and eastern subpopulations that brought fresh genetic material into the smaller group.6PubMed Central. Genetic and demographic recovery of an isolated population of brown bear Ursus arctos L., 1758 Current estimates put the Cantabrian population at around 350 to 400 individuals, a dramatic increase from the roughly 70 counted in the early 1990s. The bears are spread across Asturias, Cantabria, León, Lugo, and Palencia, and their range continues to expand.
The Pyrenees
The Pyrenees, straddling France and Spain, present perhaps the most contentious bear population in Europe. By the mid-1990s, only five native Pyrenean bears remained, making the population functionally extinct. Starting in 1996, eleven bears were introduced from Slovenia in successive rounds to rebuild the population.7Peer Community Journal. Estimating abundance of a recovering transboundary brown bear population with capture-recapture models The reintroduction worked from a biological standpoint: the population has grown to an estimated 80 or so animals, spread across the French and Spanish sides of the mountain range.
But the social side has been turbulent. Public attitudes toward bears in the French Pyrenees vary dramatically over short distances. Residents of some departments are broadly positive about bear presence, while those in others are deeply opposed, and people born outside the Pyrenees tend to be more supportive than those raised in the mountains.8Biological Conservation. Spatial variation in public attitudes towards brown bears in the French Pyrenees Sheep farming is central to the local economy and culture, and bear predation on livestock has fueled fierce opposition from pastoral communities. The Pyrenean bears remain one of Europe’s most politically charged wildlife issues.
Italy’s Two Bear Populations
Italy is unusual in having two entirely separate bear populations that differ in almost every way. In the Central Apennines, the Marsican brown bear is a genetically distinct subspecies endemic to Italy. This tiny population, estimated at around 40 to 50 individuals, is concentrated in and around the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, which has protected them since 1923.9Journal of Mammalogy. Land-Cover Change and the Future of the Apennine Brown Bear: A Perspective from the Past Despite the long history of protection, these bears have suffered persistent illegal killing, and their small population size makes them vulnerable to random catastrophes. A critical review of their status found that the most urgent threats include the lack of reliable population data, continued poaching, and administrative fragmentation across the jurisdictions that share their range.10Ursus. The Apennine Brown Bear: A Critical Review of Its Status and Conservation Problems
Hundreds of kilometers to the north, the Trentino population in the Italian Alps is a success story with complications. Ten bears were released in the early 2000s, imported from Slovenia, and adapted well. By the end of 2012, the population had reached a minimum of 47 individuals, with 74 cubs born across 34 reproductive events. Young males dispersed into Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, making this a genuinely transboundary population. A population growth rate of over 15% was observed despite some mortality and illegal killings.11Journal for Nature Conservation. Brown bear reintroduction in the Southern Alps: To what extent are expectations being met? The Trentino population has continued growing since then, and the expanding range has brought bears closer to towns, intensifying the debate over how to manage human-bear encounters in one of Europe’s most densely populated mountain regions.
Countries Where Bears Are Gone or Nearly Gone
The United Kingdom lost its bears in the early medieval period. Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Portugal have had no wild bears for centuries. Germany’s last native bears were killed in the 1800s, and while occasional males have wandered in from the Alps (most famously “Bruno” in 2006), no breeding population exists. Switzerland similarly receives wanderers from Italy but does not have an established population. Austria’s situation is precarious: a tiny remnant once persisted in the Alps, and occasional bears cross from Slovenia or Italy, but there is no self-sustaining Austrian population.
The Czech Republic has sporadic bear sightings along its border with Slovakia. The Baltic states are mixed: Estonia has a small but stable population connected to the Finnish-Russian range, while Latvia and Lithuania have only rare visitors. Belarus has bears in its northern forests. The pattern across much of central and western Europe is the same: bears were systematically eliminated during the 18th and 19th centuries and have returned only where active reintroduction or natural recolonization from surviving populations has occurred.
Europe’s Two Genetic Lineages
European brown bears are not all genetically alike. They fall into two major lineages that diverged thousands of years ago during glacial periods. The eastern lineage is widely distributed from northeastern Europe across to the Russian Far East. The western lineage splits further into an Iberian group (the Cantabrian bears) and a Balkan-Italian group. These deep genetic divisions mean that bears in Spain are more different from bears in Scandinavia than you might expect for members of the same species on the same continent. Reintroduction programs that move bears between regions inevitably mix these lineages, which raises conservation questions about whether maintaining genetic distinctiveness should take priority over boosting raw numbers.
Roads, Railways, and the Connectivity Problem
Having bears in a country and having bears that can move freely between countries are two different things. One of the biggest threats to bear populations is fragmentation caused by highways, railways, and other infrastructure. Research in Slovenia found that while bears did not avoid the vicinity of a major highway, the road acted as a hard barrier to movement. Of 13 resident bears tracked by radio, none of the adult females and most of the males never crossed it; the highway simply became the edge of their range.12Biological Conservation. The impact of high speed, high volume traffic axes on brown bears in Slovenia
The same problem exists across the Carpathians, where proposed highway developments threaten to slice through bear habitat. Large rivers running alongside busy roads restrict gene flow, and connectivity models have identified critical corridors that would be disrupted by new infrastructure.13PubMed Central. Inferring fine-scale spatial structure of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) population in the Carpathians prior to infrastructure development Habitat analysis across Europe suggests there is plenty of suitable land for bears, but the connections between patches are often poor, with highways acting as the primary chokepoints.14Global Ecology and Conservation. Where to go? Habitat preferences and connectivity at a crossroad of European brown bear metapopulations Wildlife crossings help where they exist, but they remain rare and expensive across most of Europe.
Living with Bears and Conflict
As bear populations expand, they inevitably move closer to people, and conflict follows. In the Polish Eastern Carpathians, roughly a third of the estimated 72 bears in the region were responsible for damage to crops, livestock, or apiaries. Most of the damage-making bears were female, reflecting the local sex ratio, and only about a third of those were classified as “problem individuals” with repetitive conflict behavior.15Journal of Applied Ecology. Individuality matters in human–wildlife conflicts: Patterns and fraction of damage‐making brown bears in the north‐eastern Carpathians This finding is important because it means a blanket response to bear damage can be misguided: most bears are not causing problems, and targeting the specific repeat offenders is more effective than assuming the whole population is to blame.
In the Italian Alps, the expanding Trentino bear range has pushed more encounters toward towns and villages. A long-term assessment of damages in the area found a high number of incidents near urban areas, suggesting that as bears continue to spread, human-bear encounters will only increase.16Scientific Reports. Patterns of brown bear damages to agro-livestock activities in North-Eastern Italy across 15 years Electric fencing for apiaries and livestock enclosures, bear-proof garbage containers, and rapid compensation systems for losses are all part of the coexistence toolkit, but implementation varies widely between countries and even between municipalities.
What European Bears Eat
European brown bears are omnivores with diets that shift dramatically by season and region. In Sweden’s boreal forests, spring and summer diets are dominated by ungulates (mostly moose) and insects, with ants being the primary invertebrate food source. In autumn, berries take over completely, with bilberry, crowberry, and lingonberry providing the calories bears need to build fat for hibernation.17Wildlife Biology. Seasonal and annual variation in the diet of brown bears Ursus arctos in the boreal forest of southcentral Sweden
In more human-dominated landscapes, like parts of southeastern Europe, the picture changes. Bears there rely heavily on hard mast, particularly acorns, which can make up the majority of their autumn and winter calories. But anthropogenic food sources, from unsecured garbage to orchards and croplands, are a meaningful part of the diet in some seasons. In one study examining bear diets in human-dominated areas, anthropogenic food was the single largest energy source during summer.18Scientific Reports. Sex specific seasonal variation in the diet of brown bears in human dominated landscapes That dependency on human food is a major driver of conflict, because it pulls bears toward settlements exactly when people want them to stay away.
Climate change threatens to reshape these dietary patterns. Modeling of the Cantabrian population suggests that warming temperatures could reduce oak forests and the acorn supply bears depend on, potentially pushing bears toward a more carnivorous diet and increasing friction with livestock farmers. Bears may also need to travel longer distances between seasonal food sources, increasing their exposure to roads and human infrastructure.19PubMed. Responses of an endangered brown bear population to climate change based on predictable food resource and shelter alterations
Bear-Watching Tourism
Bears have become a significant tourism draw in several European countries. Finland, Romania, and Slovenia all host commercial bear-watching operations, typically using hides positioned near feeding stations where bears reliably appear at dusk or dawn. Finland alone has attracted an estimated one million tourists to bear-viewing enterprises during their operating seasons. Romania and Slovenia offer similar experiences, with permanent viewing hides in the vicinity of artificial feeding sites. The economic value is real: these operations support local employment in guiding, hospitality, and transportation in rural communities that often have few other income sources.
The conservation implications are mixed. Feeding stations keep bears habituated to specific sites and can alter natural movement and foraging patterns. On the other hand, the revenue they generate gives local communities a financial stake in keeping bears alive rather than viewing them as pests. In parts of Romania, bear tourism has become a competing economic argument against proposals to loosen hunting quotas, giving conservationists leverage they would not otherwise have.
Bears As Parasite Hosts
As apex omnivores that roam widely and feed on everything from carrion to berries to garbage, bears pick up a wide range of parasites, many of which can infect humans. A study of Cantabrian bears in Spain found that the liver fluke was the most prevalent parasite, present in nearly 60% of samples, followed by a roundworm species found in over 40%.20European Journal of Wildlife Research. Presence of gastrointestinal and bronchopulmonary parasites in Cantabrian brown bears Mixed infections, where bears carried multiple parasite species simultaneously, appeared in over 40% of samples.
In southeastern Europe, the first documented case of a parasitic eyeworm in brown bears was recorded, with over a quarter of sampled bears infected. The finding matters because this parasite is transmitted by small flies and can cause eye disease in a wide range of animals, including people, suggesting bears may help maintain the parasite’s life cycle in both wild and peri-urban environments.21PubMed. Zoonotic Thelazia callipaeda eyeworm in brown bears (Ursus arctos): A new host record in Europe Seasonal monitoring of bear parasites has shown that the vast majority of identified taxa are zoonotic, reinforcing the argument that wildlife health surveillance is a necessary companion to bear conservation.22PubMed. Seasonal dynamics of brown bear parasites: opposite trends for nematodes and protozoa
Could Bears Return to Countries That Lost Them?
Portugal has not had bears for over a century, but as Spain’s Cantabrian and Pyrenean populations grow, the possibility of natural recolonization is no longer theoretical. A workshop held in northern Portugal in 2021 surveyed stakeholders about the prospect. Participants generally felt safe about living near bears, viewed their return as an opportunity for local development rather than a threat, and were broadly positive about the idea.23Conservation Science and Practice. Perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders on the return of brown bears (Ursus arctos): Contributions from a workshop held in northern Portugal Whether bears actually make it into Portugal depends on whether the expanding Spanish populations can navigate the fragmented landscape between the Cantabrian Mountains and the Portuguese border.
Germany and Switzerland both receive occasional bear visitors from the Alps, and if the Trentino population continues growing at its current rate, establishing a foothold in Austria or Bavaria becomes increasingly plausible. The question in all these cases is not whether there is suitable habitat. Studies consistently find more suitable bear habitat in Europe than bears currently use. The question is whether human tolerance, political will, and physical connectivity can line up in the same places at the same time. Bears are remarkably adaptable animals. Whether they are welcome is a human problem, not a bear one.