The agency wrote in the social media that, “The bear is now free and in good condition. It has also been equipped with a GPS in the neck to monitor its movements continuously”.

While just a few days ago in Memaliaj (Tepelena) a bear was lost, the agency calls on all residents, tourists and local institutions to immediately report any such cases or wild animals in need.

“Together we can protect and enable healthy habitats for nature’s inhabitants. Therefore, we thank all the relevant teams that contributed today, the State Police, Tirana Zoo, PPNEA and the AWRT Center”, said the agency. /k.s/r.e/p.s./

A local resident called the Regional Administration of Protected Areas, Korça and reported that a brown bear was at risk being caught in a trap. The administration workers and professionals specialized in similar cases went immediately to the scene and took all the necessary measures to help the brown bear.

They were assisted in this effort by the State Police, specialists from the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) and Callisto Greece.

After they released the brown bear, they also place a GPS on its body to monitor its movements in the following days.

Minister of Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro expressed today her gratitude to Korça Regional Administration of Protected Areas, the PPNEA and the Greek environmental organization Callisto for rescuing the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Pogradec.

Kumbaro warned for, “Maximum punishment on illegal hunting” and said that she has confidence in the State Police for clarifying this event that violates the moratorium established precisely to protect the wild animals”.

“After the installation of the GPS for the purpose of continuous monitoring, now the bear is free to move again in its habitat”, said Kumbaro.

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) enjoys national and international protection, being listed in Annex II of the Bern Convention and in the European Habitats Directive./k.s/p.s./

According to the National Agency of Protected Areas, the brown bear has been documented in the area of the “Mali me Gropa – Bize – Martanesh” Natural Park.

The brown bear prefers to live under dense forest cover and its movements are mainly done during the night.

The hunting moratorium has led to an increase in wildlife over the past few years.

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) enjoys national and international protection, being listed in Annex II of the Bern Convention and in the European Habitats Directive.

It has a length of 100-250 cm; height from shoulder level: 70-150 cm and weight: 80-300 kg./k.s/p.s./

Brown bear (Ursus arctos) monitoring is a cross-border activity that will be implemented during a three year period in ecological corridors, connecting the Prespa Basin with other large areas in Albania, North Macedonia and the border with northern Greece.

The purpose of this activity is to understand and evaluate the functionality of the bio-corridors of brown bear and other large mammals through the test of bear movement in narrow areas as part of the ecological corridor network.

So far, the Association team together with the local office staff, volunteers, two interns and the staff of Regional Administration of Protected Areas Korça, has completed the phase of setting trap cameras in the area designated for their monitoring and control. Trap cameras will be removed in December to get the first results of this season. /j.p/p.s./

PPNEA issued a press release on the event to say that although the terrain was difficult, the working group managed to heal the wounds found on the bear’s body, which were created by repeated attempts to get rid of the trap where it had fallen.

At the end of the process, the bear was seen from a distance that it managed to get up and move, although the wounds will continue to bother him for some time.

The PPNEA team expressed thanks to all those who participated in this rescue operation, which turned out to be successful.

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a species that enjoys protection nationally and internationally, being listed in Annex II of the Berne Convention and the European Habitats Directive.

PPNEA called on the relevant institutions to investigate this case and bring to justice all those who set such traps to capture wildlife, which is a criminal offense punishable by law. /r.e/p.s./