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Article History

Received: 25 June 2024

Accepted: 12 March 2025

First Online: 3 April 2025

Declarations

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: Finland. Permission to capture and manipulate bears was issued by the County Veterinarian of Oulu and the Regional State Administrative Agency of Lahti (Finland). The capturing of bears met the guidelines issued by the Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Oulu (OYEKT-6e99), and permits were provided by the provincial government of Oulu (OLH-01951/Ym-23). Slovakia. The Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic issued the permit (No. 10155/2010–2.2) for capturing and handling the bears. Because ethical clearance for wildlife research is not required in Slovakia, we adhered to the recommendations outlined in the Scandinavian biomedical protocols for capturing, chemically immobilizing and radiotagging brown bears (Arnemo et al., 2007). Romania. Permission to capture and manipulate bears was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests of Romania (No. 1662/23.08.2016). These bears were collared for research purposes, specifically either as individuals rescued from illegal traps and subsequently released and relocated, or as bears captured and relocated due to their presence and problematic activities in urban areas. The capturing of bears met the guidelines issued by the National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry Marin Dracea, INCDS (see technical reports of the project LIFE FOR BEARdProject LIFE 13 NAT/RO/001154; ), and permits were provided by the hunting associations (state or private) where the capture took place.

: All authors have provided consent for publication.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.