The Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) and the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (MESP) have launched the first national genetic census of brown bears in the country, an activity that will provide more precise data on the abundance, distribution and genetic diversity of this strictly protected species.
The genetic monitoring will cover the Dinaric-Pindian population of brown bears, which stretches from the Alps to the Aegean Sea and numbers around 4,000 individuals, making it the largest population of this species in Europe. In Macedonia, the research will be conducted in the western part of the country, from Skopje’s Crna Gora and SharPlanina in the north, to Pelister, Nidze and Kozuf in the south.
The goal is to collect around 900 genetic samples by the end of 2026, and the process will actively involve foresters, game wardens, rangers in protected areas, hunters, collectors of forest fruits and medicinal plants, as well as hikers, cyclists and nature lovers.
“Genetic monitoring is a non-invasive collection of genetic samples from material that animals leave in the environment. In the case of bears, fecal samples will be collected, from which the genotype of each individual will then be determined, as a kind of genetic fingerprint,” saidAleksandarStojanov, project coordinator at the Macedonian Ecological Society.
