Successful ‘Pasha 003’ operation at Skakavac
Years of monitoring bears, wolves and other large wildlife in the protected Skakavac area have paid off. A team of university professors, veterinarians, rangers and hunters captured the first bear to be fitted with a telemetry collar for round-the-clock tracking.
Years of monitoring bears, wolves and other large wildlife in the protected Skakavac area have paid off. Professors from the University of Sarajevo, veterinarians, rangers and hunters used traps to capture the first bear to be fitted with a telemetry collar. The collar will allow them to monitor the bear’s movements around the clock.
Project value: BAM 162,000
The animals are being studied through the project ‘Inventory, population and health status of large carnivores and other species in the Skakavac nature park monument’. The Environmental Protection Fund of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina provided BAM 80,000, while the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Cantonal Public Institution for Protected Natural Areas supported the project with BAM 82,000.
Tracking the bear
Apart from Pasha 003, no other animal was caught. After several unsuccessful attempts, the dedicated team adapted the trap into which the bear entered. It was safely sedated, fitted with the collar and released. The team named it Pasha 003 because it is the third bear of its kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina monitored by this team.
Members of the Sarajevo Hunting Association were part of the team that prepared the trap. They say there are more bears in the protected Skakavac area, mostly females with cubs, but Pasha 003 is one of the largest bears observed so far.
In the coming period, the team will monitor Pasha’s movements, activity patterns and preparations for winter in greater detail.
