Nature without large beasts loses its balance and wildness, leading the landscape to instability and gradual decay. Accepting large beasts means understanding the importance of nature as a whole, which is the only way to climate stability. Help us monitor and protect large carnivores in Slovakia.
In April 2021, we launched the Green Life project in Costa Rica and the first 72 hectares of rainforest on the border with Tapanti National Park, which is part of the La Amistad biosphere reserve.
Monitoring of large carnivores is aimed at getting to know them, understanding the meaning of their existence and direct protection from trophy hunting and poaching.
The current environmental situation in Slovakia is extremely unfavorable for animals, and our organization and its field teams carry out monitoring in order to detect poaching and the emergence of bear synanthropy, which critically threatens bears.
Those interested in cooperation with the Justice for Nature association can apply as volunteers for this activity and, after thorough training, can be part of monitoring teams under the supervision and command of professionals from the Eye of Bear team.
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Monitoring with the help of camera traps
Patrol activity in the field with the detection of inappropriate and illegal animal feeding
Inspection of highway fencing on the R1 highway section
Monitoring large carnivores in the field for the purpose of their protection
Cooperation with ŠOP SR (data sharing)
Prevention of environmental crime
Hunting for poisons in the landscape (Birdcrime)
Detection of illegal landfills
Our goal is to stop the pursuit of legal trophy hunting of large animals, detect poaching and prevent the occurrence of bear synatropy, search for irrefutable evidence in field action, uncover green crime and provide important data to the media and competent persons in Slovakia.
Ending inappropriate and illegal feeding and introduction of game, which causes bear synanthropy
Educating the population so that they are not subject to superstition, manipulation and fear of large beasts
Obtaining enough data leading to the construction of ecoducts
Ensure appropriate waste management in municipalities with bear-proof containers
The beginning of the Eye of Bear dates back to 2017, when we placed the first few camera traps in Kremnické vrchy in cooperation with colleagues from the Prales deťom association. Our goal was to find out the areas with the occurrence of brown bears, wolves and lynx in this part of Slovakia, which is not subject to any higher level of nature protection, despite the fact that this region is exceptional. During the years 2018 – 2019, we acquired a number of unique shots of wild animals, including bears, lynxes and wolves.
In June 2020, we signed an agreement on cooperation with the Slovak State Nature Conservancy (ŠOP) in Banská Bystrica to monitor large carnivores in the NAPANT and Kremnické vrchy. Part of our activity was not only monitoring with camera traps, but also the collection of genetic samples of bears and wolves (droppings and fur) for the purpose of determining a more accurate number of bears in Slovakia and also analyzing the food of bears and wolves (until the end of April 2021).
From 2022, we will continue monitoring illegal activities that cause synanthropy in brown bears and monitoring migration corridors between Štiavnické and Kremnické hills. The critical situation of illegal and inappropriate feeding of game by hunters, unsecured containers in municipalities and tourist facilities cause brown bears to eat human food, which increases the risk of a human encounter with these beautiful large beasts.
Bears are targeted by hunters as being overpopulated and through the media they are spreading fear, which leads to the restoration of regulated, i.e. trophy, hunting, which is unacceptable in the 21st century. Thanks to our field patrolling, monitoring and educational activities, we help uncover the illegal activities of hunters and make visible their bloody game, which currently has a dangerous political dimension, when the Ministry of the Slovak Republic was dominated by hunters and loggers. Help us protect them too.
Support the Eye of bear project and help us preserve the current environmental situation in Slovakia.
