Until their extinction, brown bears lived in our forests for thousands of years.
In 1904 the last indigenous bear in Switzerland was shot by two hunters, Jon Sarott Bischoff and Padruot Fried, in the Val Mingèr. 10 years later, this valley became part of the National Park.
Between 1999 and 2002, 10 brown bears were released in the Adamello-Brenta Nature Park in Trentino (IT), roughly 60 km from the Swiss National Park.
In 2005, the first young bear migrated from there to the region of the National Park. Two more animals followed in 2007. Since then, hardly a single year has elapsed without visits from young bears in the National Park.
In Trentino there are currently about 80 bears. When they reach the age of 2 or 3 years, young male bears are chased away by their mothers and have to look for their own habitat. The bears that have appeared so far with us belong to this category, mostly on the route from the Venosta Valley in South Tyrol. It takes time for female bears to settle in new areas.
Above: bear M13 in 2012
