A hungry bear at the foot of Mount Paiko in northern Greece made his presence felt in an area after eating about 40 kilograms of honey and destroying 15 to 20 beehives!
The large mammal was photographed by the automatic cameras installed by members of the environmental organisation Kallisto. Kallisto were notified of the disaster by residents of the wider area of ​​Goumenissa.
"The honey that the bear ate was last year's honey that the producers have put in to feed the bees. They still doesn't have this year's production as it doesn't have that much flowering. The bear also ate the brood of the bees", the communication manager of Kallisto, George Theodoridis, told AMNA.
He added that a bear had appeared in the area for at least ten years and attributed its presence to the increase in its population, but also to the abundant food at the foot of Mount Paiko.
"Especially this year, there were a lot of chestnuts left on the trees because the producers didn't get good prices and didn't harvest them, so there was plenty of food, either on the branches or down on the ground," pointed out Theodoridis.
From the beginning of February, when the beekeepers discovered the damage to their beehives, the Forest Service and Kallisto were notified, whose officials went to the area to inform the residents about the ways to deal with and prevent damage.
"We recommended, and it was followed by producers, that they move the beehives inside electrified fences and put a small radio playing, in order for the noise to scare and drive the animal away," said Theodoridis.
More information on the prevention and treatment of damage caused by wild animals in crops, beekeeping and animal husbandry will be given at an open event organised by the Cultural Association of Goumenissa "Agios Tryfon".
Speakers will be representatives of the Local Government, the Forestry Service, ELGA (Thessalon Branch), OFYPEKA (Management Unit of the Prespa National Park and Protected Areas of Western Macedonia), the "Kallisto" organisation and the LIFE ARCPROM project.
The event will take place on Wednesday at 5 pm at the office of the Cultural Association of Goumenissa "Agios Tryphon" (opposite Goumenissa Town Hall).
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