Wherever the locals go outside the village, even through the village, the first animal they see is a bear. There are so many of them in the territory of Piva that it has become almost everyday for someone, especially shepherds and mountaineers, to meet them. Ten days ago, seven bears were seen in the area of a kilometer and a half as the crow flies, in the village of Stabna.
This is what the president of the Hunting Association "Bajo Pivljanin" from Plužine told "Vijesta". Vlatko Joković.
It was in that area in the village of Stubica, on Sunday, November 24, that a bear attacked a hunter and ranger of the "Piva" Nature Park (PP). Miljan Grubac (44) and inflicted serious injuries on him. The team of doctors who operated on Grubac at the Clinical Center said that they had never encountered such intense injuries from a wild animal. Grubač is recovering at the VMA in Belgrade, and the hunters are asking the authorities if it is time to react because "bears are appearing at every turn in the beer villages" and not only livestock, fruit trees, apiaries, but also people are no longer safe.
"The bears have done so much damage that it is hard to count. It is almost impossible to preserve livestock, orchards, and bee farms. He has already become a danger to people. Children are no longer allowed to take livestock to graze without adults, because they are afraid of meeting a bear. There are too many bears in this large territory and it is high time that the authorities, experts, and non-governmental organizations react. A way must be found to reduce the number of brown bears in Piva, and they will know the best way, whether sanitary shooting or putting them to sleep and transferring them to fields where there are none," says Joković.
Meetings between humans and bears are not an everyday occurrence only in Piva. The situation is similar, say hunters and locals, in the municipality of Nikšić, in Golija, Banjani, Župa, Dragovoljići...
"Miljan is a supervisor at the 'Piva' Nature Park. He performs nature protection work and other work tasks impeccably and professionally and is considered the most physically capable supervisor, which is very important due to the nature of the job, and probably one of the most capable people from Pivlja. He is a responsible worker in every sense, and we have nothing but words of praise for his work commitment. He is a family man, the father of four children. Coincidentally, Miljan, whose professional engagement is nature protection, was attacked by a bear while hunting and suffered serious injuries, which in recent history is an unheard of case in Piva, and probably beyond. We are appalled by the amount of malicious comments on this disaster, which Miljan did not deserve either as a worker, as a hunter, or as a human being, taking into account the nature of the injuries that Miljan received and the circumstances in which this accident occurred," the director of PP told "Vijesti" "Beer" Ivan Doderovic.
The locals of Piva were almost equally affected by the news about the severity of Grubac's injuries, as well as the comments that could be read afterwards on various portals and social networks, where individuals "defended" the bear and "attacked" the ranger.
"Nature is preserved by the one who is constantly in it, not the one who turns it into concrete in order to live in it. Miljan took more hay, corn, and salt to nature than individuals and certain non-governmental organizations have seen in their lifetime. Last year, when it was considered whether the shooting of bears would be allowed, Miljan said that he would never shoot a bear, even if they allowed it. Those who protect the bear are in Podgorica, on concrete, it's safe for them, and for these people in the villages, it's as if it's a state of war, when they can't calmly go out in front of their houses," he says. Djordje Bajagić, the hunter who was the first to reach the injured Grubač.
He recalls that on that day the hunters went hunting for wild boars, and that Miljan informed everyone that he met a bear and two bears so that the hunters would not kill them by mistake.
"The bear sensed Miljan from afar and was attracted to him to cut his path. When Miljan got close enough to him, the bear jumped on him from the side and only God knows how long that fight lasted. The rifle was found jammed. Miljan failed to react. I've seen some say 'don't go into bear habitat'. Then everyone would have to flee to the cities, because in the countryside every yard is a bear's habitat. Everyone knows that our hunting ground, together with the Nature Park, is the richest in terms of game stock, which speaks volumes for how professional Miljan and his colleagues are in their work," emphasizes Bajagić.
Doderović said that "regardless of all other priorities, people's health and well-being should always come first".
"The 'Piva' Nature Park works on the management of the protected area and the protection of nature, and therefore bears, and we appeal to both hunters and the population to respect the legal provisions regarding the protection of nature and game. We hope that decision-makers at higher levels will somehow find a model to prevent similar occurrences", said the director of PP "Piva".
In order for Miljan Grubač to receive medical help as quickly as possible and thus save his life, everyone worked together - hunters, members of the Plužine Protection and Rescue Service and emergency services, doctors at the Clinical Center...
"Around 13:XNUMX p.m., the emergency medical service was called by the commander of the Protection and Rescue Service of the municipality of Plužine, Mirko Cicmil, who told us that a bear had attacked a hunter in the village of Stubica and that it was a serious injury. We immediately went to the scene. Arriving in Stubica, given the inaccessibility of the terrain, we set off on foot to meet the injured person who was being carried from the scene of the attack by members of the Protection and Rescue Service and members of the hunting club," says the doctor. Ljubica Todorović.
"In the injured hunter, we found a severe head injury, bleeding and vital parameters indicating a threatening state of shock. We started with measures to care for the victim, stopping the bleeding, preventing the state of shock due to the injury, which was life-threatening. After that, we transported the injured hunter by ambulance to Plužine, where while waiting for the arrival of the helicopter, we continued to provide medical assistance in order to stabilize the patient's vital parameters," explains Todorović.
Feeding near houses is not a good measure
In the Brown Bear Management Plan, which was adopted by the Government in July, it was stated that a trend of slight population growth was recorded in Montenegro.
"In Montenegro, in the last 20 years, there has been no planned use, i.e., the shooting of brown bear... Analyzing the submitted numerous conditions of this species of game, by the users of the hunting ground in the last 10 years, a slightly positive trend of population growth can be noted. We see the reason for this in the fact that in the past period there was no shooting of this type of game", it was stated.
The presence of the brown bear in Montenegro was registered in 26 hunting grounds, and research has shown that Montenegro has a stable population of brown bears, with very good gene flow.
"It has been confirmed that conflicts between humans and brown bears remain a major threat to the conservation of the species, and therefore systematic efforts are needed to address these conservation challenges, such as a lack of understanding of the socio-economic and ecological role of bears or an overestimation of the risk of attacks bear. Bears avoid houses and settlements, except when food is available there. After repeatedly finding food near houses, bears associate people and food, continue to visit non-residents in search of food and become problematic. This leads to the conclusion that feeding bears is not an effective measure to prevent damage. Also, the conclusion is that the most important preventive measure is the control of human sources of food, together with interventions to remove problematic individuals, in accordance with the Protocol of the Intervention Team", the Brown Bear Management Plan states.
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