There are two populations of bears in Norway today. Bears in Finnmark belong to the Norwegian-Finnish-Russian population, while those in other parts of the country belong to a joint Scandinavian population, which is growing.

Bear populations in Norway and Sweden

Most bears are found in a zone along the border with Sweden, but young  male bears can roam across large areas and may turn up in other parts of the country. It has proved difficult to obtain good population estimates for bears in Norway. They hibernate during the winter, and are therefore difficult to track.

In 2006, collection of bear scat for DNA analysis was started in a project involving moose hunters and the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate. In the first season, scat was collected in the counties from Sør-Trøndelag and northwards, while the rest of the country was covered in autumn 2007. Collection and DNA analysis has been continued each year since then.

Analysis of scat samples collected in 2009 indicated that they were from164 different bears. This is a minimum figure, since it is unlikely that scat has been collected from all bears in Norway. However, systematic collection over a number of years will give a relatively precise estimate of the Norwegian bear population.

The bear population in Sweden numbers about 3200 animals, and appears to have been growing by about 5.5 per cent per year in recent years.

Population target: 15 bear litters a year

Bears breed every year in the Pasvik area in Finnmark. In recent years, between one and six litters a year have been registered in Norway, all of them near the border with Sweden and Russia/Finland. Norway’s population target is 15 litters a year.

Between 1850 and 1860, 200–300 bears were shot every year in Norway. As a result of intense hunting pressure in both Norway and Sweden, bears were almost extinct in most of the region by the early part of the 20th century. There was a bounty system in Norway until 1932.

Today, the population is regulated by culling, either of specific bears that are killing livestock or domestic reindeer, or of a quota of bears by licensed hunters.

In 1932, bears were protected while in their winter lairs, and in 1973, they were given total protection.

International agreements that apply to bears

The Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats applies to the brown bear. The species is included in Appendix II, which lists strictly protected animal species. It is also included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This Appendix lists species in which trade may be permitted but must be strictly regulated.

Viable bear population and all-round use of resources in uncultivated areas

Norway’s current policy is intended to ensure that bear populations are viable and that active and all-round use of resources in uncultivated areas can be maintained, including grazing by livestock and domestic reindeer.

This means that there are some areas where the aim is both to maintain a bear population and to keep up the use of land for grazing. In these areas, measures to prevent or reduce bear-human conflicts are very important. These may include suitable fencing, bringing livestock in from rough grazing earlier than normal, guarding livestock using dogs, and using night-time enclosures for livestock. In addition, problem individuals can be culled in acute situations.

Culling

In areas where it has been decided that breeding bears are unwanted, culling is the most important means of regulating the population – either by permitting killing of problem individuals or by setting a quota of bears that can be killed by licensed hunters in a particular area.

Monitoring the population

Bear populations are difficult to monitor, but collection of bear scat and hair samples for DNA analysis has proved to give good results. Samples are now being collected regularly as part of the national monitoring programme for large carnivores, which is intended to standardise the collection of detailed information and provide better knowledge of geographical distribution and population sizes.