Another collared bear in Montenegro

The expert team of the Center for the Protection and Research of Birds of Montenegro (CZIP), with support from colleagues at Durmitor National Park, successfully captured and tagged another brown bear with a GPS/GSM collar as part of the ForestConnect project, on Sunday, July 6th, 2025, in Durmitor National Park. This method allows for continuous monitoring of the bear’s movement and behavior in order to better protect its habitat and develop strategies for human-wildlife coexistence.

"I’m extremely pleased with the bear capture operation in Durmitor National Park. The preparation process, in collaboration with CZIP, was very efficient, which led to a successful capture. During anesthesia, the bear was in good condition, which allowed us to take morphometric measurements and samples, and fit the collar. This action significantly contributes to the monitoring of bears in Montenegro, and to a better understanding of their biology, ecology, and behavior — a path toward coexistence between humans and bears in this region," said Dr. Slaven Reljić from the Bioterra association.

The alarm on one of the traps was triggered around 3 a.m., during the very first night after the traps were set. The expert team, led by Dr. Reljić, immediately headed to the site where the presence of a bear in the trap was confirmed. It was an adult male, estimated to be over six years old, weighing 157 kilograms, and in good health.

After the bear was successfully sedated using a combination of anesthetics, morphometric measurements were taken, samples collected, and a GPS/GSM telemetry collar was fitted. All vital signs of the animal were monitored during anesthesia. The operation lasted about three hours and went without complications. Around 6 p.m. that same day, the first data from the collar arrived, showing that the bear had spent most of the day resting deep in the forest with minimal movement.

Employees of Durmitor National Park — Bojana Badnjar, Miladin Kasalica, Milić Janjić, and Lazar Kaljević — assisted in the capture operation, and we thank them for their support.

"As part of the ForestConnect project, which aims to protect and preserve biodiversity within ecological corridors, CZIP had been preparing feeding stations for the capture and telemetry tagging of a brown bear for a long time. We established excellent cooperation with Durmitor National Park, which was involved in the entire process," said Marija Iković from CZIP.

"We can say that the entire operation was very successful and that the bear was captured in record time — already after the first night of trap activation. This is the second bear captured within the ForestConnect project in Durmitor National Park. The data we obtain through monitoring will be extremely useful in understanding the ecology of the brown bear, thereby contributing to the conservation of habitats crucial for its survival," Iković concluded.